MEXICO By JOHN WESLEY BUTLER Thirty-two Years Missionary in Mexico CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY JENNINGS & GRAHAM THROUGH ALL THESE YEARS A FAITHFUL HELPMEET CONTENTS CHAPTER PAG* I. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS, 7 II. ANCIENT INHABITANTS AND MONUMENTS, ---- 15 III. PRE-COLONIAL DYNASTIES, -- 21 IV. THE TRAGEDY OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY, ---- 29 V. CRUSADERS AND INQUISITORS, - 41 VI. THE PREY OF PRIESTS AND VICEROYS, 49 VII. LIBERATORS AND REFORMERS, - 59 VIII. THE INTRIGUE AND ITS FAILURE, 69 IX. THE MACEDONIAN CRY, - 81 X. PLANTING THE MISSION AND LOOKING FORWARD, --- 93 5 MEXICO CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. SOUTH of our Western States the Republic of Mexico lies between 140 30' 42" and 32� 42' North latitude. A glance at the map shows the country with the appearance of an immense cornucopia, its mouth toward the United States, and having a coterminous boundary of 1,833 miles; its concave side toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea for 1,727 miles: its convex or western line washed for 4,574 miles by the Pacific Ocean, whose line describes the arc of a larger circle. Toward the south, at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the country is only about one hundred miles from ocean to ocean, it turns abruptly to the east, so that portion is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the 7 Mexico south both by Central America and the Pacific. Mexico has a larger coast line in proportion to its area, than any other country in the world. The Tropic of Cancer crosses Mexico somewhat north of the cities of San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. Railway officials frequently call the attention of tourists to that fact as they cross it. The country now contains 767,326 square miles, nearly equal in extent to the territory of the United States east of the Mississippi River. One hundred years ago the population of Mexico and the United States was about the same. Now the population of the United States is six times that of Mexico; the causes will be apparent later on. By the annexation of Texas in 1845, the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty of 1848, and the Gadsden treaty of 1853, the United States took from Mexico 930,590 square miles, or more than half her original territory. But for these losses, Mexico to-day would be nearly two-thirds the size of our own country. It may be doubted whether half the people in the United States know that sixty years ago Texas, California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Physical Conditions Nevada, Oklahoma, part of Wyoming, and part of Kansas all belonged to Mexico. Whatever may be alleged concerning rights of conquest, war indemnities, or even the right of Texas to secede, candid students of history certainly will blush for the manner in which our government acquired Mexico's lost provinces. Treaties make "valid" certain issues, but they do not always take into account their moral side. Let us hope that Providence, whose hand we would recognize in all, and who wisely overrules all the mistakes of nations as well as of individuals, will help us in some way to compensate the injustice done a weaker nation. The Republic is divided into twenty- seven States, two Territories, and one Federal District, the last being organized and governed like the District of Columbia. Only four of the States lie within the territory of Central America, and the rest in North America. The population now is upwards of fifteen millions, but the country could easily maintain fifty millions. The people may be classified as follows: about one-fifth Eu 10 Mexico ropean descent, two-fifths of mixed races, and two-fifths natives. The late Matias Romero, for so many years Mexico's able diplomatic representative at Washington, gives the figures more exactly as follows: European descent, 19 per cent; mixed races, 38 per cent; and native Indians, 43 per cent. The Cordilleras formerly were considered a continuation of the Andes of South America, originating in Patagonia and extending along both continents. But researches made by French engineers during the intervention established that the Andes proper terminate at Panama, and that the Mexican Cordilleras are an independent range. On the western slope they are known as the Sierra Madre del Occidente, running the entire length of the country, and through California they take the name of the Sierra Nevada. The eastern range runs through many depressions across Texas, and connects with the Rocky Mountains of the United States. The two ranges in Mexico are like parallel gigantic walls towering heavenward, occasionally culminating in a peak among Physical Conditions the clouds, perpetually crowned with snow. Between them, and protected by them from the severity of the ocean storms on either side, stretches the great central plateau, running almost the entire length, with an average elevation of five to eight thousand feet above sea-level. Topographical conditions result in a great variety of climate and scenery. For instance: between the ports of Tampico or Vera Cruz and the plateau, in a few hours by rail, the traveler may taste of the torrid, temperate, and frigid zones. There is perhaps no other country in the world in which climate depends more upon altitude than latitude. Indeed, the central plateau for ten months of the year enjoys something which approaches perpetual spring, with a mean temperature of 62 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The same altitude in the latitude of Boston or New York would induce almost an Arctic climate. Generally the foreigner coming to the country, following dictates of common sense and laws of health, will find healthy and attractive conditions almost everywhere. It is true that yellow fever and 12 Mexico other tropical diseases are sometimes met, but the wise sanitary laws of the Federal Government, with the hearty co-operation of local authorities, are improving matters, especially along the coasts. Historians and travelers alike have lavished admiration on the magnificent scenery in Mexico. Well they may. It baffles description. Some compare it to the scenery in Switzerland. Everything, however, in Mexico is on a grander scale, although the latitude of Switzerland gives a lower snow line, and consequently many more peaks are perpetually white, and there are numerous lakes, and hence a greater natural beauty. There, however, the scenic is confined to a small territory, while in Mexico it is vast, and the mountains are grander in their heavenward towering. Humboldt, who had traveled in every continent, declared there was no natural scenery anywhere quite equal to the view from the Castle of Chapultepec in the storied valley where stands the City of Mexico, and toward any point of the compass your eye meets mountains twelve to fifteen miles distant, surrounding the beautiful valley Physical Conditions as the everlasting mountains "are round about Jerusalem." The purity of the atmosphere seems to bring the mountains much nearer, and one fancies it would be only a pleasant morning walk to the foot hills. From the roof of the house you will be able to take in with the natural vision the three great lakes and dozens of little villages scattered here and there through the valley. No eye can ever weary contemplating the peaks, eternally encrowned with snow, kissing the firmament like giants of the ages standing guard over the Valley of Tenoctitlan. "Each traveler in his turn described the valley in which he has tarried longest as the loveliest in the world; nowhere else do the snowy crests or smoking volcanic cones rise in more imposing grandeur above the surrounding sea of verdure, all carpeted with the brightest flowers. In these enchanted regions there is still room for millions and millions of human beings." The following table of the mountain peaks (the first ten being volcanoes) will give further idea of the broken surface of the country: 14 Mexico ELEVATION IN FEET. MOUNTAINS. STATES. Popocatepetl, . . . . Mexico, 17,540 Orizaba, Vera Cruz and Puebla 17,362 Toluca, Mexico, 15,019 Ixtacihuatl, Mexico and Puebla, . 16,076 Colima, Jalisco,. 14,363 Zapotlan, Jalisco, 12,743 San Martin de Tuxtla, Vera Cruz, .... . 4,921 Tancitaro, Michoacan, 12,467 Jorullo, Michoacan, 4,265 Tacana or Soconusco, Chiapas, 7,436 Federal District, . . Guarda, 9,731 Ajusco, Federal District, . , 13,628 Cofre de Perote, . . , Vera Cruz, 13,641 Zempoaltepec,.... Oaxaca, 11,141 Pico de Quinceo, . . . Michoacan, 10,905 Veta Grande, ... . Zacatecas, 9,140 There are but few rivers in the central plateau. As the country drops suddenly to either side, these rivers, fed not alone by mountain springs, but by the perpetual melting of enormous snow banks of the volcanoes, increase greatly, and near the coast some of them are navigable for many miles inland. During the American war a whole fleet of gunboats passed Tampico and went forty miles up the Panuco, which is known as Mexico's Mississippi. Next to the Panuco, the rivers Rio Grande, Balsas, Lerma, and Popoloapam are the more important. Three of these empty into the Gulf, and two into the Pacific. CHAPTER II. ANCIENT INHABITANTS AND MONUMENTS. No BOOK on Mexico would even be remotely complete which did not at least briefly glance, not merely at the inhabitants found here by the Spanish conquerors, but those who had preceded them by long centuries. Cortes found hoary empires, cities long lost in ruins, temples and palaces of whose origin little could be learned, pyramids ancient as those of Egypt, hieroglyphic inscriptions which the tooth of time had only partially effaced, and many evidences of ancient civilizations in some respects superior even to that of the Spaniard. The history of these ancient inhabitants who bequeathed these eloquent though inanimate evidences of a departed glory is highly enchanting. It is to be regretted that the prescribed limits of this book preclude the possibility of a satisfactory study 15 16 Mexico of this subject. The Epworth Reading Course for 1895, published by the Methodist Book Concern, included a small work entitled ''Sketches of Mexico," where the interested reader may find an introduction to this fascinating inquiry. Some sixteen different theories are there passed under review. Six of these are European theories, four African, and six Asiatic. Able writers are there cited in support of each of the sixteen theories, some of which become intensely interesting when Old Testament history is quoted to sustain the argument. This is especially the case when King Solomon and his father's tried friend, Hiram, are summoned by an old Spanish author to tell how they sent to Mexico to seek material for the building and the beautifying of the Temple. There is doubtless some element of truth in several of the theories advanced. The wars of the Tartars drove some races from their Oriental habitat across Bering's Straits or the Pacific Ocean, for they could easily sail from island to island, aided by trade winds and ocean currents, until they reached the American coast. Others doubt Inhabitants and Monuments 17 less came from the East in trading vessels, or perhaps by way of the Atlantis, that chain of islands long since supposed to have been submerged beneath the waters of the Atlantic. Given the fact that one hundred and fifty languages are known to have been spoken in Mexico, it is clearly evident that the early inhabitants did not all come from the same country. However, whether these primitive people originated in Africa or Asia, or proceeded from both continents, the fact remains that great empires flourished here long ages before Columbus or Cortes was born and dreamed of discovery and conquest. Passing from the shadowy to the certain periods of history, we hear of the Otomi from Central America, the Maya-Quiche from Yucatan, and the migratory Nahuas from the North, spreading over Mexico. Their monumental ruins are mute reminders of a dim and distant past, of which little is really known. Among these are the ruins of Uxmal, in the State of Yucatan, quite recently explored. Le Plongeon spent many years there, and afterward published a curious book on Queen Maa and the 2 18 Mexico Egyptian Sphinx. He submits that the Mayas planted the center of civilization in Mexico, which later spread into India and Egypt, and finally into Greece and Western Europe. In the State of Chiapas, as well as in Guatemala, exist the Palenque ruins, which Dupaix contends are older than the flood, and Charnay believes they will some day decide "the question of American civilization." The mysterious pyramid of Cholula, near the city of Puebla, was brought to the attention of modern scientists by Humboldt, about one hundred years ago. It is an artificial mound, probably built for worship. Its base is one thousand feet on each side, and the apex is about two hundred feet square. Quetzalcoatl, the hero of Lew Wallace's Fair God, who visited Cholula, was believed by some early Mexican writer to be none other than the Apostle Saint Thomas, who thus introduced Christianity on the American continent. About twenty-five miles from the City of Mexico are the two famous pyramids of Teotihuacan�the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, both probably Inhabitants and Monuments 19 built for worship. They are perhaps the most ancient monuments on the American continent. With the buried city lying near by, these pyramids will be the Mecca to which many an archaeologist will some time wend his way, especially when the present investigations conducted by the Mexican Government, under Professor Leopolda Batres, shall be made public. Dust and detritus to a depth of three to four meters are being removed from the pyramid slopes, revealing the original steps. The Mitla ruins in the State of Oaxaca witness to palaces and temples whose "beauty can be matched only by the monuments of Greece and Rome." The special mystery of these ruins, aside from the question of their origin, is associated with the gigantic stones or monoliths which served as lintels over the doorways, the immense weight and bulk of which have defied the ages. They rest unmoved in elevated positions, which in these days would require all the magic of modern mechanics and engineering skill to place them. "As in Egypt, so here the mystery will never be solved." 20 Mexico Xochiacalco, Quemada, Papantla, Misantla, and other archaeological remains are worthy of mention. But for brevity's sake we refer the reader to Humboldt, Stephens, Dupaix, Brantz Meyer, Kingsborough, Charnay, and other well-known authors. When the Spanish conquerors came, these ruins were so old that Toltecs and Aztecs could give but scanty information concerning them. Vague traditions were current touching those "Giant architects, the Shepherd Kings of Egypt," or the other mysterious people who came at some remote period from beyond the wide seas, and who left a vast and wonderful field for the traveler, the archaeologist, and the historian. Some day these ruins may yield up their secret. Meanwhile conjecture is allowed free wing in the firmament of the prehistoric until, inquiry satisfied and research rewarded, some intelligent notion is formed concerning the ancient inhabitants and monuments of Mexico. CHAPTER III. PRE-COLONIAL DYNASTIES. THE millions we would so gladly evangelize are descendants of the races found here by the Spanish conquerors�the Toltecs, Chichimecas, and Aztecs. Remnants of other and older families were met. When we attempt, however, to trace them, we deal only with legendary history and with the mysterious and massive ruins that refuse to disclose their secrets. During the seventh century of the Christian Era the Toltecs crossed Bering's Straits. They marched by easy stages along the Pacific Coast, made temporary stops at several places in Mexico, and finally established a dynasty in the heart of the country, their kingdom lasting some five hundred years. Their capital was Tollan, or as it is now known, Tula, an old town some fifty miles north of the City of Mexico. Ruins of the 21 22 Mexico ancient capital, which still exist, are visited by hundreds of tourists. They were a peaceful tribe, devoted to mechanical arts, improved agriculture, and worked the precious metals, and they so excelled in architecture that their name has become a synonym for architect. This fact bears out the belief that many of the monumental ruins tell of cities built by the Toltecs. During their migrations, which lasted one hundred and nineteen years, they constantly sought to know the will of the Supreme Being. They had military leaders, but God was their great Commander, and their chief priest His vicar on earth. As they wandered from their native habitat they relapsed into idolatry more and more. They had been but a few years in their new home when all the wise men were summoned to assist the High Priest in the preparation of their "Book of God." By paintings they represented every event in history, from the creation to their arrival at Tula. In the same way they represented religious rites, governmental systems, social customs, arts and sciences, astrology, computation of time, and even prophecies. Pre-Colonial Dynaties Though brave in time of need, they were not a wralike people, preferring the cultivation of the fine arts and the pursuit of agriculture; thus they bequeathed to posterity much useful knowledge. Four hundred years later another mysterious and nomadic people from the North, called the Chichimecas, followed the Toltecs. They had been their dreaded neighbors in their distant Eastern home, had harassed them frequently in their migrations, and finally located near the Toltecs after they reached Tula. The Chichimecas were an inferior race, and at first quarrelsome. They interfered with internal matters to the extent of imposing one of their princes on the Toltec throne; they also absorbed the language and customs, and finally the Empire itself. They spread rapidly until they reached the Gulf on the east, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the south. At times they seemed to blend the softer qualities of Toltec civilization with the barbarous tendencies inherent to their warlike natures. They lived mostly on game, natural fruits and roots, and worshiped the Sun. 24 Mexico The Aztecs appeared just as the Chichimecas succeeded in acquiring a large territory and had scattered their princes over the country as heads of small kingdoms. The Aztecs came by a long and circuitous route. A representation of the Deity was carried by "the servants of God" in their marches; they erected an altar at every stopping place besides their tabernaculum, somewhat as the children of Israel did in the wilderness. At last they found in Lake Texcoco "a rock in the midst of the waters, from which sprang up the Nopal, and in the Nopal an eagle holding a serpent in his claws/7 Here, as the legend goes, the High Priest had told them to build the permanent temple and found the seat of the empire. So here Cortes found the Moctezumas in all their glory, where stands the present City of Mexico, Missionary operations have centralized round that scene of rude romance and savage splendor hard by the forgotten altars of the Sun Worshipers. The Aztec dynasty lasted about three hundred years. Under the two Moctezumas it reached its acme of grandeur and Pre-Colonial Dynasties extended in dominion over a territory some fifteen hundred miles by six hundred, with magnificent highways rivaling in construction the old Roman roads of Italy and Brittany. The Moctezumas ruled with rare wisdom. They made laws, defined and regulated the rights and duties of citizens, and preserved social order in a manner that indicated endowment with highest legislative and administrative ability. They fostered agriculture and horticulture to a high degree of success. Scien-' tific irrigation was to them well known. On looms of simple construction they made cotton cloth and other tissues, some of which were of exquisite fineness and often interwoven with feathers. Some of their garments were truly magnificent. In mining and metallurgy they were very expert. They had a well organized system of moneys, weights, and measures. Their knowledge of astronomy astonished the Europeans. Their whole political, theocratic, military, and social economy gave evidence of a highly civilized and cultivated people. The stories of their bloody rites, as related by Spanish historians or 26 Mexico repeated by Prescott, should be taken with a great grain of salt. The state of civilization among them when first known to the conquerors is said to have been far superior to that of the Spaniards themselves, as first known to the Phoenicians, or of the Gauls as first known to the Greeks, or of the Germans and Britons when first known to the Romans. The Mexicans, as all the descendants of the ancient tribes are henceforth known in history, were worthy of a better inheritance than was brought to them by the Spaniards. Had other settlers visited this country in the sixteenth century, what a different history of this noble people might have been written! They recognized the one Superior Being as "the invisible, incorporeal, the one God of perfection and purity." They sprinkled their infants with "holy drops of water," and believed in baptismal regeneration. The priests of Huitzilopochtli were five thousand in the ancient city, and they were allowed to marry. Those in the monasteries led stern conventual lives, including penance of flagellation until the blood flowed, and this for Pre-Colonial Dynasties the expiation of their sins. They taught three states of future existence: I. Where the wicked were to suffer in everlasting darkness for their sins; 2. Where those with no merit other than having a natural death were to enjoy a negative existence� everlasting sleep; 3. Where those who died in battle or by sacrifice passed with songs and danced immediately into the presence of the Sun, the highest heaven of all. The Great Teocali, or Temple, which required generations to build, was completed six years before Columbus discovered America. It covered acres of ground, and was a little city by itself. It sheltered priests, priestesses, and a strong military garrison. Here, too, was the great sacrificial stone. Upon the altars of each of the many little sanctuaries the fire was never allowed to die out. If our beloved Church were as careful, as a unit, to keep the missionary fire burning ever on the hearts of the people, how long would it require to lead the world, now enwrapt in idolatry and superstition, to a knowledge of the Truth? Netzahualcoyotl, the King David of 28 Mexico Mexico, who wrote many beautiful poems and who erected a temple "to the Unknown God," said in what may be regarded as his Swan Song, "The things of yesterday are no more to-day." True enough, their magnificent empires passed away, as he said in the same farewell song, "Like the fearful smoke that issued from the throat of Popocatepetl. " The glory indeed departed. How and by what cruel hands will be disclosed in the next chapter. CHAPTER IV. THE TRAGEDY OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. THE conquest of Mexico has been related by some of the most eloquent historians. The story has been told in half a dozen modern languages. The voluminous works of Clavigero, Humboldt, Prescott, and Bancroft are accessible to all students of missionary enterprise, and the fascinating tale probably has held spellbound many of our readers. Our limited space will allow us to tell the story but briefly. Cuba was conquered in 1511. Velazquez, the Governor-General, was ambitious to verify the predictions of Columbus concerning further discoveries to the westward. Cordova, his first envoy, discovered Yucatan. Grijalva, nephew to Velazquez, sailed in 1517, and discovered the Island of Sacrificios off Vera Cruz, where the Spaniards 29 30 Mexico saw the first human sacrifices. They entered the Panuco River, at whose mouth stands the modern coast-city of Tampico, and then they returned to Cuba. Enraptured by these reported discoveries, the Governor-General dispatched messengers to the King of Spain giving glowing accounts and impressing him with the possibility of extending his Empire. He asked also for a powerful armament for the work of conquest. For this he needed a man of ability and resolution, but sufficiently tractable to be a passive instrument in his own hands. Whatever else the Spaniard was, he was then jealous and suspicious. He hesitated to trust his own nephew. Finally Cortes was suggested. He was brave, exceedingly popular, and was supposed to have the requisite fidelity to Velazquez. Besides, he was rich, and that would help. Consequently Hernan Cortes was appointed Captain- General. His preparations were hastily made, and his entire fortune was spent in military stores and provisions. The Governor-General was suspicious of Cortes, but he was outwitted. The future con Tragedy of Sixteenth Century 31 queror and destroyer of ancient civilization set sail from Cuba on the 18th of February, 1519. He had eleven small sailing vessels and eight hundred and sixty-three men all told, including two priests, also sixteen horses, ten brass cannon, four small cannon, and other smaller weapons peculiar to that age. His first landing place was the Island of Cosumel, where after ten days' stay he reported the conversion (?) of the Indians, whose idols he ruthlessly rolled down the steps of the great temple. On the 4th of March he ascended the Tabasco River on the main land, frightening the natives with his horse and cannon. The next day, with the war-cry of "Saint James and Saint Peter," patron saints of Spain and Cortes himself, he proceeded with a slaughter of the innocents, overturned their idols, for which he substituted pictures of the Virgin, baptized the prisoners, and received a gift of twenty native maidens, one of whom, Marina, became his paramour. With great self-complacency, Cortes reported to His Majesty that if he had not converted them all he "had brought them so far in the way of salvation as to 32 Mexico desire, or at least not to oppose, the means of obtaining it." Six weeks later the adventurer reached the island off San Juan de Uloa, and landed the following day on the main land near Vera Cruz. He parleyed a few days with the local chief, and for the first time saw the picture paintings by which news of his arrival was being forwarded to the interior of the country. To encourage the artists, Cortes displayed his artillery and cavalry in great style. He produced the desired effect of terror in the minds of all, both on the coast and in the interior. By trickery and subterfuge he raised a ghost-like superstition in their minds: could this be the mysterious Quetzalcoatl, the God of Peace, who in the distant past disappeared from that very coast, promising some day to return and "possess the land ?" Their superstitious fears were fully awakened, and this fact doubtless had much to do with the conquest of the millions of Mexico by a handful of European adventurers. The affrighted Moctezuma, seeing the picture representations of the new comers, sent them gifts of gold and silver, finely Tragedy of Sixteenth Century 33 wrought cloths and splendid specimens of feather work, all hastily dispatched to the coast, hoping thus to dissuade the Spaniards from their purpose. But this only served to whet the appetite of the avaricious Cortes, and confirmed his intention to visit the great Emperor of the Mexicans. He said he had a "disease of the heart," which could be cured by the more abundant supply of gold. He broke off all negotiations with the Governor-General of Cuba, opened communication directly with the King, overcame by strategy the insurrection among his followers, turned his back upon the Gulf, and plunged bravely, though blindly, into the mainland. Ten leagues inland he reached Cempoala, a rich and beautiful place. There he gained the good will of the people, and obtained much valuable information concerning the Aztecs and the country in general. Under the protection of cannon his soldiers then treacherously entered the temple, cast down the idols, built an altar, and set thereon an image of "the Mother of God." A second insurrection among his followers made him still bolder. Summar 3 34 Mexico ily he dispatched the ring leaders, ordered his vessels sunk, harangued the people, and again the air rent with the cry, "On to Mexico!" Considering all the circumstances, this bold act is without a parallel in history, not even excepting Julian's exploit in burning his fleet after ascending the Tigris. On the 15th of August, 1519, Cortes began the memorable march over the steep mountains. He was accompanied by thirteen hundred allied Cempoalans, whose advice he followed in choosing a route by way of Tlaxcala. It was hoped that the Tlaxcalans, long time enemies of the Aztecs, might be secured also as allies. In this they were at first sadly disappointed. Their determined leader, Xicotencatl, had under him as brave an army as history records. After fierce engagements, however, a treaty of peace was concluded, by which the Tlaxcalans became vassals to the King of Spain and sworn allies in the campaign against Moctezuma. Human sacrifices were prohibited, the idols were cast out of the temple, and the whole nation baptized into the kingdom. Tragedy of Sixteenth Century 35 But Mexico, with its fabulously reputed wealth, was the objective point of the Spaniards, so they could not long delay in Tlaxcala. Soon they started again, accompanied by their new allies. Under pretense of friendship, Moctezuma sent an invitation to Cortes to visit him, and treacherously suggested the route by Cholula as the best. Moctezuma hoped his friends, the Cholulans, would lead the foreigners into a trap and massacre every one. The scheme was discovered in time; then the missionaries (?) from Spain by stratagem seized the chiefs of the holy city, and turned loose their army upon the affrighted population. A wholesale massacre followed, which lasted two days. Six thousand people were butchered. The temple with its idols, together with the priests and their attendants, who there sought refuge, were totally destroyed by fire. On to Mexico! was more than ever the cry. Moctezuma again fatally mistook the approaching foe, sending ambassadors with promises of immense quantities of gold if the Spaniard would advance no further. But that feverish "disease of the heart" merely increased in in 36 Mexico tensity with all these overtures. Cortes pressed his toilsome march across the mountains between the snow-capped peaks, until the ancient and beautiful valley of Mexico broke upon his sight in all its native loveliness. The white halls of Moctezuma, "like some Indian empress with her coronet of pearls," seemed to repose on the bosom of the swaying waters. But imminent above all was the cypress crowned hill of Chapultepec, with its magnificent palaces, menageries, aviaries, and amphitheatres. Before the enraptured eyes of the Spaniards lay the prize�the enchanting fairyland for which they had ven tured all. Moctezuma was filled with increased read as the Spaniards approached. On consulting "the gods," however, he decided to entice them on and, when secure in the city, cut off their retreat, make them prisoners, and sacrifice them on the altars of Huitzilopoctli. As King Latinus awaited Virgil's hero and his Trojan warriors, while he curbed his own people by quoting the oracles, so Moctezuma awaited the approach of the Spaniards and their allies. Tragedy of Sixteenth Century 37 They entered by the eastern border of the beautiful valley until they reached Ixtapalapan. Envoys of the highest rank were sent to meet them, at times insisting that their entry to the city was an impossibility because of the enraged populace, and yet that Moctezuma bid them welcome. Repeatedly these envoys, in the name of their emperor, presented to the conquerors gifts of enormous value, with a plea that they leave the country. Neither threats, bribes, nor subterfuges prevented their arrival at the Aztec capital on the 8th of November, 1521. It was a tragic moment, the day- dawn of dominion over a proud, pathetic people. At their first meeting, at the edge of the city, Cortes placed upon the neck of Moctezuma a necklace of glass beads, imitations of pearls, diamonds, with irridescent balls. These trinkets were as false as the verbose assurances of friendship which accompanied them. In a later interview Moctezuma is said to have related to Cortes the legend of Quetzalcoatl. He said he believed the Spaniards were the predicted white race 38 Mexico coming from the East which would "possess the land." Whether this conversation occurred or not, this superstitious fear doubtless had much to do with the comparatively easy conquest. Several visits were exchanged between the Aztec emperor and the Spanish general. The latter was reproved for suggesting that he be allowed to substitute a cross and a picture of the Virgin for the idols. Cortes then made a dramatic dash, and with sublime audacity captured Moctezuma as a prisoner, in the midst of his own court. For awhile the handful of foreign adventurers ruled the empire through their royal prisoner, whose heart was broken. Whatever may have been the inward struggle, Cortes ruled with a high hand; princes were deposed, ambassadors and governors of the provinces were seized upon arrival and were served as funeral pyres, the idols were cast down, the cross, the Virgin and the saints set up in their stead, and their ancient temples were rededicated with great show and pomp to the worship of "the true God,"�and all under the persuasive eloquence of the cannon. Tragedy of Sixteenth Century 39 For months Cortes had his hands full. The arrival of a Spanish force, sent by the Governor-General of Cuba for the purpose of deposing Cortes, gave him no little trouble; but it was soon defeated, and the remnant joined the man they had come to cast down. While Moctezuma was a prisoner his people became more restless every day, and were watching earnestly for the hour to strike their oppressors. The emperor's tragic death while trying to pacify the revolting masses only made matters much worse. By this time Cortes was persuaded that he could hold out no longer against such odds. A hasty retreat under cover of night was decided upon. But the vigilant Mexicans threw themselves upon the retreating forces in such superior numbers that they were almost annihilated. Three- fourths of the Spaniards fell, four thousand of their allies were killed, wounded, or captured, the Spanish cannon and ammunition were depleted, the rich treasures were left behind, and the remnant of the army was ready to rebel. "Sad night" history well may call the retreat of Noche 40 Mexico Triste. The retreat continued until the Spaniards once more reached Tlaxcala. In less than a year, however, Cortes brought more men and arms from the coast, trained a strong army of allies, and returned against Mexico City. A fleet was constructed and launched on Lake Texcoco. After a protracted siege Cortes captured the city, August 3, 1521. In October of the following year, despite the attempts of his jealous countrymen and their repeated efforts to depose him, Cortes was confirmed as Governor- General by Charles V. The cruel execution of Guatemotzin, successor and nephew of Moctezuma, together with some princes of adjoining States, "lest they might rebel against the new order of things," is one of the darkest pages in the tragedy of the sixteenth century, which resulted in three hundred years of Spanish rule in Mexico. CHAPTER V. CRUSADERS AND INQUISITORS. IT has been said that the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel was signalized by four great events; viz., the establishment of the Inquisition, which occurred in 1481; the conquest of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the discovery of America, which three latter events occurred in 1492. The first and last named directly relate to Mexico. From the landing of Columbus on American soil to the arrival of Cortes at Vera Cruz, nearly thirty years elapsed, Ferdinand and Isabel passed off the stage in that period, and Charles V, their grandson, came to the Spanish throne. The spirit of the Crusaders was then a living fire throughout the Peninsula. Long, indeed, before the eight famous crusades of the Middle Ages this adventurous spirit ran high among this people of mingled 41 42 Mexico blood, springing from a greater variety of stock than any other European nation, and producing "restless and impressionable tribes." At a very early day the original population was overwhelmed by a great Celtic invasion. Then arose the Phoenicians, who as traders and colonists were attracted to this "Tarshish" of the Old Testament. There is some evidence of Greek settlements followed by Carthaginians. Some two hundred years later the Romans drove out the Carthaginians, subdued the contending tribes, and made Hispania a part of their proud empire in the year 19 B. C. For three centuries this was their richest province. The Franks invaded Spain in 256 A. D. They left but little impression. Early in the fifth century the Barbarians perpetrated awful cruelties and carnage on Romans and natives alike. Then resulted the Goths, whose intolerant dominion lasted for three centuries. They in turn were conquered by the Mohammedan Arabs, or Saracens. Next arose the Spanish monarchy. At the beginning it was characterized by bitter strife between "plundering Barons and the Crusaders and Inquisitors 43 mountain intrenched Goths," or between "the infidel" and "the Christian." This strife lasted for centuries, and gave a permanent bias to the Spanish character, very much in evidence ever since. The Spaniard seems to have been launched on the sea of history with a racial conviction that the only path to wealth was to find some one who had it, and then take it from him by fair or foul means. In every conquest and in every colony this attribute has been characteristic of the Spaniard. Many of the early kings, like the father of Ferdinand, were famous for ferocity and treachery, especially "in hunting unhappy heretics like wild beasts among the mountains." Naturally Ferdinand gladly encouraged the Inquisition, which was formally constituted by a papal bull and issued its first mandate at Seville, January 2, 1481. This terrible tribunal has existed in many Roman Catholic countries, but nowhere has it exhibited such merciless and ferocious tendencies as in Spain. Torquemada was the first and the greatest Inquisitor general in human history. Four days after the Inquisition was proclaimed at Seville, six heretics were 44 Mexico burned at the stake. Seventeen were burned alive in March, and before the end of the year two hundred and ninety-eight had been sacrificed in the autos da f'e. Even after burial many were tried and convicted, and with a hyena-like ferocity torn from the grave and added to the funeral piles. Doctor Rule, in his "History of the Inquisition," adds that this pile "was prepared on a spacious stone scaffold, erected in the suburbs of the city, with the statues of four prophets attached to the corners, to which the unhappy sufferers were bound for the sacrifice, and which the worthy curate of Los Palacious celebrates with much complacency as the spot "where heretics were burnt and ought to burn as long as they can be found." The greedy arms of this diabolical institution reached to the confines of the kingdom, and embraced people of both sexes and of every social class, high and low. Attempts at resistance were futile, for Ferdinand aided the agents of the "Holy Office" with the iron hand of military power. At times the most unsuspecting and innocent victim would be met on the public way or in the act of entering Crusaders and Inquisitors his own home by a representative of the Inquisition, who would give the dreaded but well known sign. The one thus summoned as if hypnotized would without question, or without the chance of a parting word with his loved ones, follow the officer, and would vanish from among the living as though swallowed up by the earth. The proceedings of the Inquisition were always conducted in profound secrecy. The accused was never faced with the accusers. Witnesses were not allowed to communicate with or be known to each other. The charge was never made known to the prisoner, to whom cruel torture was often applied in order to exact confession or information. Perhaps other members of his family were at the same time in adjoining dungeons enduring like cruelties. But of each other's fate they would know absolutely nothing until they met on the gallows or at the stake. No institution on earth was more perfect in its operations than was the Inquisition. Every member of the Roman Catholic Church was under the strictest obligation to report everything he might see or hear 46 Mexico that "seemed contrary to the faith." Servant and master, brother and sister, parent and child, husband and wife, were all spies on each other. Any one failing to confess at stated times was a "suspect." The evidence of the blackest criminal known to civil law was accepted against a "heretic." The penalties were confiscation, penance, imprisonment, infamy, and death. Llorente, Secretary of the Tribunal of Madrid from 1790 to 1792, admits the number of victims during Torquemada's eighteen years of rule "as 10,220 burnt, 6,860 condemned and burnt in effigy as absent or dead, and 97,321 'reconciled' subject to penalties less than that of death," an average of 5,800 sufferers each year in a single nation, in the name of "Our Holy Religion." But to no other nation in all the wide world does this inquisitor's honor belong. And this was Spain, with the spirit of the Crusaders and wickedly cruel with its awful Inquisition. Spain had thus a delight for cruelty when Cortes landed on the shores of Mexico. The terrible Alva, emissary of King Philip, boasted that he had executed Crusaders and Inquisitors 18,600 in the Netherlands, besides all who perished by battle and massacre. The good Bishop Las Casas, writing twelve years after the Spanish Crusaders and Inquisitors had arrived in the West Indies, says "several hundred thousand of its native inhabitants had perished, miserable victims of the grasping avarice of the white men." These Crusaders and Inquisitors did even darker deeds in Peru. They seized the Emperor, or Inca, extorted his treasures as ransom, burnt the royal captive at the stake, stripped his young and beautiful wife, bound her thus to a tree, scourged her with rods, and then shot her to death with arrows. In the Philippines they ruled for three hundred and fifty years with an administration "rotten from skin to core," enriching themselves and impoverishing the natives. Still nearer than all these was the story of the wild Crusader and cruel Inquisitor in Cuba, from the time of the first Governor- General down to General Weyler, under whose administration nearly half a million natives died of starvation, while to 48 Mexico a newspaper reporter in our own day he declared that he thought himself "merciful" These were the people, ripe in their delight of cruelty, who landed as Crusaders and Inquisitors on the shores of Mexico in 1521, under the leadership of Cortes, as "defensores fidei" CHAPTER VI. TH E PREY OF PRIESTS AND VICEROYS. AT that time the cry, "In hoc signo vinces" meant something. With the Spanish Roman Catholic that cry would rally an army for conquest and devastation, burning cities and obliterating nations. Under that enthusiasm, aggression, and inhumanity were sanctioned and had play in Mexico. For three hundred years priest and vice roy ruled jointly, both claiming to repre sent the Roman Catholic Church. The black record of Spain on this continent can never be forgotten. Nor can it be for gotten that all her atrocities were consum mated with apostolic sanction. It was the missionary spirit of that age and that peo ple. It was the Church militant, rather than its merciful Founder, He who ever "went about doing good." 4 49 50 Mexico Had another race come here in the true spirit of God's first Great Missionary, how different would have been the results to this fair land and the noble Aztecs. We venture the assertion that had the Bible, translated into Spanish in 1270, been allowed from that day on free circulation in Spain, instead of being chained in convents, its benign teachings would have entered the lives of the people, and not only Mexico, but every other country upon which Spain laid its blighting hand, through those tragic centuries would have been immeasurably improved, and the Mother Country would have written some of the most glowing chapters of all human history. Pope Alexander VI, himself a Spaniard, had the day-dream to convey to their Catholic majesties of Spain and Portugal, the entire American continent from the pole to the cape. Consequently priests and viceroys regarded Mexico as their legitimate inheritance. Its people were to be converted into Christians by the aid of the military arm. The material cross was to substitute the pagan idols. In most cases it became only an affix. Hence to this day Prey of Priests and Viceroys 51 the evidences of an amalgamation of Christian rites with pagan ceremonies. The Church began these compromises with paganism upon the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, and has kept them up ever since. In Mexico she did only what she had done before. Considering the character of the priests and the viceroys of Colonial times, the extremes reached need not surprise the student of history. So we find the first conquerors a real military church�every soldier believing himself an apostle, bound to convert as well as conquer. No matter if himself he were licentious, covetous, and bloodthirsty, doing all in the name of the "holy religion," "every sin would be atoned by so good work." The viceroys, with rare exceptions, such as Count Revillagigedo, Velasco, and a few others, and a vast majority of the clergy, excepting truly noble men like Las Casas, Gante, San Miguel, Motolinia, and a limited number of the order, have well merited the verdict of history that they were avaricious, audacious, and violent. 52 Mexico Immediately after the conquest a great number of priests and monks crossed the Atlantic to instruct the nation so recently "converted." These readily conjoined with the viceroys in ruling, as also in oppressing. Pope Julius II in 1508 had delegated to the Catholic kings the government of the Church in all Spanish foreign possessions. Therefore bishops were appointed by the crown. The Council of the Indies, which had been created at Madrid, was absolute in all religious and civil matters, even with power to oppose or reject all papal bulls and briefs. In turn the Colonies were obliged to remit all their appeals to the Court of Rome to this Council, which might suppress them at will. The Pope even granted the honors and rights of cardinal to some of the viceroys. Thus it will be easy to comprehend how priest and viceroy went "hand in hand" in the government. The missionary and the soldier were one in subduing the land, securing its treasures, and trying to save the souls of those they did not destroy. Rarely did the former take the time to learn the language, and then patiently ex Prey of Priests and Viceroys 53 plain the gospel. But aided by the strong hand of the latter he proceeded immediately to administer the sacraments, and whenever he thought it needful punish apostates. On the other hand, the crown extended regal and absolute powers to the viceroys. They were authorized to partition the land among the soldiery and inaugurate a system of tribute which reached old and young alike, from the highest cacique down to the children of fourteen tender years. Children living near the mines were compelled every three months to pay in a little bell full of gold. Others were obliged to furnish a certain amount of cotton. Then came compulsory service for the cultivation of the soil�a system of slavery by which "the poor Indian" tilled his own God-given lands for the benefit of his foreign masters from beyond the sea. This he must do a certain number of hours per day, after which he "should hear mass and be instructed in the faith," and the instructions ironically close, they should "do all these things as free persons." In such cases a regular title was given 54 Mexico the Spaniard for his fifty or more Indians, all of whom were encomendado to him, that he might "teach them the things of our holy Catholic faith:'' Of the one hundred and seventy viceroys, only four were born on American soil. Of the six hundred and ten Captain-Generals and Governors, only fourteen were not born in Spain. The justice dealt out by all these functionaries was always such as conquerors give to captives, or masters give to slaves. The most objectionable features of the feudal system of Europe were not only put into practice here, but were intensified and exaggerated. That diabolical system of fueros, or privileges, by which the clergy, the military, and other favored Spaniards were exempt from civil tribunals, has been rightly called "an inextricable labyrinth of corruption, bribery, intrigue, delay, denial of justice, and outrage." Natives were given no voice, direct or indirect, in any department of government. Taxes for the crown and tithes for the Church were omnipresent, and so far as the natives could see were eternal. Commerce and industry were restricted most Prey of Priests and Viceroys 55 unreasonably. Under penalty of death the natives were not allowed to trade with any but Spaniards. Anything which the Mother Country could produce should not be raised in Mexico. All merchandise passing from one province to another was subject to additional tax. One-fifth of all the gold and silver was for the king, and he monopolized trade in tobacco, salt, etc. He openly sold all offices, civil and ecclesiastical. Then came the onerous stamp act and the poll tax. All religious rites were excessively taxed. The very forms and ceremonies by which the Spaniards were supposed to be leading the people to a knowledge of Christianity were taxed by the State in addition to fees paid to the priests. The exactions of the clergy were carried to great extremes. Not only did they levy a tariff for the seven so-called sacraments, but all kinds of licenses for sin were sold to the new converts. For example, a person who had stolen goods might be relieved from the obligation of returning the goods by buying a license from the priest, a so-called "Bull of composition.'' The 56 Mexico price depended upon the value of the stolen goods. However, that the stealing of the poor native might not be too excessive, it was stipulated that the same person could not buy more than fifty of these licenses in one year. Think of it! The poor half- tutored convert was informed in the name of "the holy religion" that the Church would wink at about one theft per week if only he paid for it in the way prescribed. Such was the morality of Spanish Christianity! As the Church obtained its prerogatives and appointments from the king, all revenues not squandered reverted to him, and the priests were the royal collecting agents of this spiritual (?) revenue. Not only objects of luxury and comfort, and artificial and ornamental productions, but the prime necessities of life were subject to tithes, and every sacrament had its price. Consequently the accumulation of wealth by the clergy was enormous. Churches, chapels, convents, and monasteries were erected everywhere, and some of the latter acquired immense land rights. The monks and nuns of Mexico City at one Prey of Priests and Viceroys 57 time owned three-fourths of the private houses, and had proportionate holdings throughout the country. Cruelty and rapacity fed like twin vultures on the vitals of the race. So cruel were the "Conquistadores" that whereas in 1521 Mexico City had a population of 300,000 Aztecs, in 1600 that city had 8,000 natives and 7,000 Spaniards. So rapacious was the Spanish priesthood, that even in 1850, on the eve of the promulgation of the Laws of Reform, the Church was said to possess real property to the value of $300,000,000, deriving therefrom an annual revenue of $30,000,000. In the course of time we see less than half a million foreigners ruling some ten million Mexicans, with a despotism such as high heaven never looked upon save where the Spanish race enacted the same cruelties in other lands. In a word, the Mexican could have no part in making or executing his own laws. He must endure most exorbitant taxation, must be restricted in his social intercourse, must submit to have his trade tyranically interdicted, must quietly suffer the suppres 58 Mexico sion of his industries, purchase goods from the hated foreigner, see his would-be-religious teacher living like lord, treating him as a slave, and laying upon his tired back "burdens grievous to be borne." Can we wonder that the Mexican grew weary of the yoke? CHAPTER VII. LIBERATORS AND REFORMERS. FOR three weary centuries this double yoke galled the Mexican people. At last the hour came when they cried out against their cruel wrongs. Against what did they cry ? Against the very same wrongs which oppressed the Mother Country. At that same time there existed in Spain a very strange blending of political and ecclesiastical despotism and of the Napoleonic intervention, with liberal republican principles. Against the same wrongs the French people cried out during the Revolution of 1789, when those three mighty pillars of the Constitution were erected�LIBERTY, FRATERNITY, EQUALITY ! Against the same wrongs our own Nation cried out in 1776, when they pledged to each other "life, fortune, and sacred honor" and sent out to 59 60 Mexico the whole world that eternal declaration. "All men are created equal; and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,'' a declaration which still pulsates around the globe like an electric shock from the battery of life. Against the same wrongs our fathers cried during the great English revolutions of 1640 and 1688. In the first case that grand Magna Charta, which had been extorted from King John in the thirteenth century, was rescued from the battle ground of four hundred years, and firmly implanted as the Constitution of a free and liberty- loving people, a constitution which, as Macaulay says, was "a model for all the other free Constitutions of the world." In the second case "the noble party of patriots and martyrs of liberty" maintained and determined the struggle for the inalienable civil and religious rights of man. In a word, the Mexicans pleaded for their God-given birthright, which no one in these days would think of refusing them. It would be simple apostasy for any son of Liberators and Reformers 61 Spanish, French, American, or English liberty to look down upon the long continued but noble struggle of Mexican patriots. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the first of a line of valiant men and women who raised this cry for the independence of Mexico. He was the first great liberator. He was born in Michoacan in 1753. After graduating from the College of Saint Nicholas, Morelia, Miguel entered the University in Mexico City, the oldest university on the American continent, from which he graduated with special honors. On returning to his native State he was called to the chair of Latin, Philosophy, and Theology in his Alma Mater. When thirty-nine years of age he became curate in Colima, later in San Felipe, and finally, in 1803, in Dolores, State of Guanajuato. The latter place soon after became the cradle of Mexican independence. Here the good man took an interest in everything which concerned the welfare of his flock. One of the most recent and best histories of Mexico truthfully says that "he was a wise man." Before he was crowned with the immortal laurels of a 62 Mexico hero and a martyr, as parish priest he continued his studious habits, preached to his parishioners, taught them trades, planted vineyards, cultivated mulberry-trees, established silk factories and music schools. This was the man, under God, called to be the Father of independence. He worked and prayed for the larger parish�his native land. In Queretaro there was a circle of patriots, meeting under the guise of a literary academy, in harmony with Hidalgo's plans. The venerable curate was one day surprised by a visit from agents of the viceroy, who ruthlessly cut down his mulberry- trees, destroyed his vineyards, and bruskly informed him that all such things were calculated to interfere with the revenue of the home country. About the same time the Queretaro Circle had been discovered by the Spanish emissaries, and all its members reduced to prison. Among these was Mrs. Josefa Dominguez, who managed to communicate orders to a trusted servant, through the keyhole of her dungeon door, to hurry away across the country, where he was to advise Aldama, who in turn car Liberators and Reformers 63 ried many more leagues to Hidalgo the news that the plans had been made known to the viceroy. On the receipt of this warning, near the hour of midnight the venerable curate went into his church, had his parishioners called from their slumbers by the ringing of the bells, and into their astonished but ready ears poured his plan of independence. His impassioned but tender appeal ended with the cry of "Long live Mexico !'' a cry which was immediately taken up by the flock and carried with increasing enthusiasm to other towns and other States. It found an echo in every heart of a downtrodden race. Thousands flew to arms. Though at first undisciplined and without munitions of war, they were fired and sustained by love of liberty and right. Almost at the outset their venerated leader was captured, degraded from the priesthood, and then shot. But now as always the martyr's blood was not shed in vain, and soon the entire nation was aroused. Against great odds, but with ever increasing courage, they pushed the hard struggle through eleven years�a courage 64 Mexico worthy of the lovers and martyrs of liberty in any age or land. Part of the year they would till the soil, and the rest of the year they would swell the ranks of the army. Now they scattered for the protection and provision of their families, and again they returned to rally round the flag. For the most part they equipped and supported themselves. Their women acted as quartermasters, purveyors, and nurses. No red cross organization ever excelled them in devotion. At last God in heaven crowned their prolonged sacrifices, and in 1821 Mexico became free from Spanish tyranny and despotism�just three hundred years after the arrival of Cortes. Only a little while before Hidalgo was captured he received a letter from the viceroy offering pardon in case he and his men would lay down their arms. To this offer the intrepid leader replied, "We will not lay down our arms till we have wrested the jewel of liberty from the hands of the oppressors." Nor did they. Though many leaders fell and thousands from the ranks were sacrificed, others quickly took their places, bent on wresting that precious Liberators and Reformers 65 "jewel." When in 1821 they came where they could view the promised land, they knew that the struggle for real national life was only fairly begun. In our time has there not been too much flippant talk about revolutions in Mexico and all Latin America? We should never forget how many revolutions it has taken to make the best nations of the world. England's struggle dragged through four bloody centuries. National unrest will continue as long as wrong exists. Wrongs which the Spanish crown and Church had implanted during three centuries of rule were not easily uprooted. The power of king-craft was broken, but the priest-craft remained. The higher clergy, as in Colombia and Peru, did not sympathize with the course of independence. The "Holy Office" directed its powerful influence against the liberators. A new viceroy, when about half way up from the coast on his way to the capital, was induced to sign a treaty of peace in the month of August, 1821. Then followed the ephemeral empire of Iturbide. In 1823 a National Congress was convoked, 5 66 Mexico and in 1824 it adopted a Constitution based upon that of the United States. But the Church party did not like it, and a series of revolutions, which lasted some ten years, brought about its overthrow. From this on occurred frequent changes in the form and personnel of the government. In 1829 Spain made a futile effort to recapture the country. The death of Ferdinand VII brought about a change in sentiment, and in December of that year the crown gave its unqualified recognition to Mexico's independence. Before long the astute, cunning, and unprincipled Santa Ana came on the scene. He was in turn emperor, "turbulent dictator," five times president, and several times in foreign exile. He began as a professed liberal, but ended as a reactionary leader for the Church�the Church which would use any leader by whom she might increase her wealth and her power. The real patriots were the liberals, and they continued to gain strength with every new struggle, while the unpatriotic conduct of the Church leaders caused them to lose prestige. Let it be remembered Liberators and Reformers that in every foreign war which Mexico has had; namely, with Spain in 1829, with France in 1838, with the United States in 1846, and again with France in 1862-67, the clergy were against their own government. This disgraceful fact has in it a lesson for every nation in which the Roman Catholic Church is to-day carrying on its machinations. In the meantime the Liberal party, which stood for patriotism and human rights, was gathering strength. At last, when the Church party had filled up its measure of abuses, the cry again went forth against tyranny and oppression. These were the very wrongs which caused the second revolution of the seventeenth century in England. These were the same against which Mazzini, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel resented in more recent times, and in the very habitat of the Roman hierarchy�and continued to protest till they had delivered their people from papal bondage and Italy stood before the world a free, happy, and united people. For the gigantic task here in Mexico God raised up Benito Juarez, Comonfort, 68 Mexico and other noble reformers, who proved themselves to be worthy successors of Hidalgo, Allende, and Bravo, and other most valiant liberators of their country. Under their leadership from the Constitution of 1824 they evolved and perfected the Constitution of 1857, under whose wise and broad provisions Church and State were forever separated, liberty of worship and of press were guaranteed, slaves freed and protected, all 'fueros abolished, Church property nationalized, the military subordinated to the civil power, commercial treaties and colonization authorized, and foreign enterprises encouraged. The Ship of State splendidly liberated moved out on the ocean of reform with an apparently bright future. CHAPTER VIII. THE INTRIGUE AND ITS FAILURE. TH E London Quarterly Review some years since said: "The countries which long formed the transatlantic Empire of Spain have, from the day in which she first planted her foot in the new world to the present time, never ceased to present the most painful contrast between the benevolent dispositions of Providence for the happiness of His creatures and the power of man to counteract them." This is especially true of Mexico. The Spaniard might have made a paradise of Mexico, so marvelously endowed with climate, soil, and minerals. But "the dispositions of Providence'' were thwarted by the avarice and the greed of the conquerors. After years of brave struggle Mexico threw off the foreign yoke, and seemed to be coming into her God- given inheritance as a free and happy na 69 70 Mexico tion, but "the power of man to counteract" was again in evidence. This time also it was the Church, for, as Matias Romero says, "The Church party was the promoter and supporter of the Intervention." Pope Pius IX and Louis Napoleon made strange "companions in arms." But Pope Alexander VI had claimed sway over the entire American continent, from the pole to the cape, and long before his day Rome had dreamed of that stupendous scheme of Universal Empire with one "Universal Bishop," "Vicar of Christ," or "Vice-regent of the Most High," temporal and spiritual Monarch of all the earth, "His Holiness the Pope." Napoleon, that "destroyer of the Second Republic," as Victor Hugo called him, violator of the solemn promises which he publicly and on his honor made for the defense of that Republic, he who disregarded every oath, trampled upon sacred rights, dissolved at will legislative assemblies and proscribed its members, expelled the supreme court, raked Paris with grape shot, terrorized the nation, "made the sword of France a gag in the mouth The Intrigue and Its Failure 71 of liberty," cruelly exiled fifty thousand of his fellow citizens to the barren shores of Africa, "placed in all souls grief and on all foreheads blushes," was nevertheless "a favorite son of the Church!' This man who made that awful record "of highest treason against a whole nation," dreamed not only of a continental, but of a transatlantic empire, and became a joint conspirator with Pius IX. Poor Mexico was to be their first prey, and the third party to the intrigue was the Church in Mexico. Almonte was their ambassador, and he needed but little time, after reaching France, to impress Napoleon that the time was ripe, that the liberal party was "without character," and that the mass of Mexicans desired a monarchy which should be in accord with Rome. As the result of our Civil War both Napoleon and the Pope fondly hoped for the success of the Confederacy, and the latter even went so far as to publicly recognize President Jeff Davis. The scheme briefly sketched was this: an empire in Mexico under Papal influence, the United States rent in twain, the 72 Mexico Southern Confederacy friendly to Rome with a restored slavery, and ultimately with Mexico to form one great Roman Catholic monarchy. Such an empire, with its millions of Romanists constantly reinforced by an ever-increasing flow of immigration from Southern Europe, would soon be able to bring about the doom of freedom and republican governments on the entire American continent. For this miserable plot Napoleon and the Pope counted upon more or less backing from every Roman Catholic State in Europe, and indeed for awhile even England was "in the net." As soon, however, as England's representatives discovered the real nature of the project she washed her hands of the whole affair, as did Spain a little later. How miserably the whole scheme failed is a matter of history. The unfortunate Maximilian, of the House of Hapsburg, and the ambitious Carlota, Princess of Belgium and would-be empress, accepted the proffered crown, repaired to Rome for; the Papal blessing, and then set sail for Mexico, and did so in the face of earnest protests on the part of The Intrigue and Its Failure 73 Mexico's special embassy in Europe for the purpose. These young princes were deluded with the dream that they were divinely commissioned to establish an American empire, "destroy the dragon of democracy and establish the true Church, the divine right." For this purpose French and Austrian troops preceded them under the pretext of collecting loans, much of which were exaggerated or fraudulent. The Mexican army was surprised and beaten back. Puebla fell into the hands of the invaders, and finally President Juarez and his Cabinet were obliged to leave the National Capital. Archbishop Labastida proved traitor to his country, gave a royal welcome to Maximilian and Carlota, and had them crowned in the cathedral with a great display of pomp. Thus was launched the "model Romish State" on the American continent�the beginning of larger designs. It was Abbe Domenech who had declared that the Monroe Doctrine must be overthrown and the Latin race given a career in America; then "within ten years,'' he adds, "the United States will declare a 74 Mexico dictatorship." But all this was man trying "to counteract the benevolent dispositions of Providence." The collapse of the Southern Confederacy was the death knell to the empire and the entire Napoleonic-Papal plot. In December, 1865, Secretary Seward sent a brief, energetic note to the French Court, pointedly but politely stating the American view concerning the attempt to plant European institutions on this continent, and expressing the hope that "within some convenient and reasonable time the French troops might be withdrawn.'' The suggestion was understood, and speedily acted upon. Thus in about three years Maximilian, in spite of European promises and the blessings of an infallible ( ?) Pope, found himself without an army. He was not slow to recognize the critical situation, and though thoroughly humiliated he "threw up the job," and started for his native land. He had gone about two-thirds of the way toward the port of Vera Cruz, where lay in waiting to do his bidding the very vessel which had brought him across the Atlantic, when he was overtaken by an emissary of the archbishop offering him The Intrigue and Its Failur 75 a strong native army, to which Mr. Seward could not object, if he would return and prop up the tottering cause. Thus for the second time the head of the Mexican Church betrayed his country. Maximilian returned, but only to find that the archbishop could not keep his promise, for the liberal forces had gathered such strength as to indicate the complete doom of the empire, and possibly the prince's own life. What could be done? Passionate appeals to Europe seemed like calling to the waves of a boisterous sea. Then in despair he said, "Shall I go or send Carlota to exact in person from Napoleon the fulfillment of his promises, or obtain from the Pope some satisfaction in lieu of infallible though barren blessing ?" From an eyewitness to the last hours these two unfortunate princes spent together in the Castle of Chapultepec we have been assured that the struggle was heart-rending. At midnight on that memorable occasion Carlota set out for Europe, leaving behind as sad a husband as ever lived. Her reception yonder was cold in the extreme. No royal welcome at the landing, 76 Mexico and nearly two days in Paris before she was called to the palace. When at last she faced Napoleon and Eugenie, she was bitterly disappointed and collapsed. Later she rallied and made her way to Rome. Here still keener disappointment awaited her, and after a worse collapse she was carried from the Vatican, never to recover her mental poise. In old age she lingers at Miramar under the delusion that she is still an empress, and vainly waiting and calling for "Max." In the meantime the situation of her husband grew desperate. In February, 1867, he left the City of Mexico for the second time, and reached Queretaro, which city was as yet in the hands of the imperialists. Soon after he was captured, condemned by laws he himself had enacted, and on the 19th of the following June was executed. Thus ended not only the so-called French Intervention, but the last attempt of European Powers to plant monarchical institutions on American soil. The fate of Maximilian had often been misunderstood abroad. But from a Mexican standpoint it was a political necessity. The Intrigue and Its Failure 77 His own "black decree" of October 2, 1866, ordered all Mexicans found fighting for their country to be shot without the formalities of a trial. Had he been pardoned at Queretaro, his person or his possible heir might become the center of conspiracies that any European influence wished to concoct in the future. Besides the Mexican authorities believed that Europe would regard his pardon as instigated by fear, and consequently an act of weakness on their part. So the pleadings of Austria and France, seconded by Queen Victoria and the Government at Washington, were all futile. The misguided prince paid the bitter penalty, and Europe will never forget the lesson. The failure of the empire meant the restoration of the republic, and consequently the opening of the country to Protestant Christianity. The immediate instrument under God for all this was Benito Juarez, 'the little Indian,'' as he is so frequently and affectionately called by his grateful countrymen. He was a man of genuine, wonderful inflexibility of character, and who never for one hour despaired of the final triumph of his cause. 78 Mexico Yet those were days which "tried men's souls." When upwards of 80,000 French soldiers landed on Mexican soil, with auxiliary corps from Austria and Belgium, and when all the influence which the old Church party could command, both military and financial, was against them, as well as that of the aristocratic element, many who had hoped and prayed for national life and human rights began to despair. But Juarez never lost courage. His faith was as strong as his conviction of his country's rights. Neither foreign soldiers nor diplomatic pleadings from powerful thrones nor papal anathemas ever swerved him an inch from his chosen path�a path in which he believed himself guided of heaven, and whose blessing he frequently invoked. This remarkable man was a pure Indian of the noble Zapotec race, and was born of humble parentage in the State of Oaxaca. At the age of twelve he came into the capital of that State without means or friends, and without even a knowledge of the Spanish. Working as a domestic the little fellow learned the language, and soon entered the seminary or Church school. At nineteen The Intrigue and Its Failure 79 he had finished a course in Latin and philosophy. Then, after a partial course in theology, he entered the institute in order to pursue a law course. At twenty-eight he was admitted to the bar. While still a student he ardently espoused the principles of the liberal party, to which he remained true in all after life. From most humble beginnings he rose to be an eminent lawyer, and such a statesman as any nation might be proud of. He was successively deputy, Secretary of State, senator, and governor of his native State. Later he was national congressman, Secretary of Justice and of the Interior, Vice-President, and finally President. In these latter offices he earned the title with which he will always be known in history; viz., the "Father of Reform.,, "His principal characteristics were his profound attachment to liberal principles, his clearness of intellect, his remarkable, good common sense, his great moral courage, unimpeachable integrity and honor, his ardent patriotism, his tenacity of purpose, and his devotion to civil government,"� just the qualities out of which true 80 Mexico patriots are made in any land. Castelar called him "the savior of the honor of his country." Our own W. H. Seward declared that he was "the greatest man he ever met in his life," and when some one called his attention to the fact that he himself was the contemporary of Webster, Clay and Calhoun, Mr. Seward said that he had nothing to retract. Such was the man who came to be the standard bearer of the liberal party, which under God bravely faced and defeated the Napoleonic-Papal intrigue of the nineteenth century, whose object was the Romanizing of the entire American continent. CHAPTER IX. TH E MACEDONIAN CRY. IN 1865 Abbe Domenech boldly published to the world that "Napoleon's Empire in Mexico was to be the crowning event of the nineteenth century." Had the abbe been a true prophet history never would have recorded the successful struggle of Benito Juarez, and this fair and favored land would have remained indefinitely closed to the blessed gospel of the Son of God. The events described in the eighth chapter prefigured the restoration of the republic. In July, 1867, President Juarez and his Cabinet re-entered the National Capital. Soon afterwards this heroic man was unanimously elected by his grateful people to another presidential term. Had we space at command, it would be interesting to dwell upon the revenge Mexico saw visited upon those who intrigued for her humiliation. While slowly but 6 81 82 Mexico surely building up a republic, destined of heaven to be increasingly happy and prosperous, the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, the Mexican people beheld across the Atlantic the ripening vengeance which the Almighty alone could have wrought out. Briefly related, the more important facts were as follows: the infallible Roman Pontiff was shorn of his temporal power; Napoleon, "his eldest son," was completely humiliated at Sedan by a Protestant king; the French Republic rose from the ruins of the empire, firmly established; Napoleon was exiled, and Eugenie, a fugitive on foreign soil, was speedily bereft of her husband, and later her only son fell on the field of battle in distant Africa. One can well tremble in the presence of such swift and awful retributions. In the meantime the liberal party, still wisely guided by Juarez, proclaimed anew the glorious Constitution of 1857, and proceeded to affix certain reform laws which they deemed necessary in order to protect themselves against future machinations of the Jesuits, and also to secure to their people the largest religious as well as civil The Macedonian Cry privileges. The immense Church property throughout the country had already been confiscated, and the clergy thus shorn of one of their means for provoking revolutions, for many of the church edifices were rich in gold, silver, and precious stones. But the Jesuits were still here, and might again be an element of disturbance. Hence for the third time they were expelled from the country. In this respect Mexico did only what nearly every nation in Christendom and many pagan countries had been compelled to do. History had already recorded seventy-five such expulsions, and recently France, for the sixth time, had found it necessary to drive this pernicious order from her territory. Some day the Government of the United States will have to face the same question. God grant that the day may not be too long postponed! Mexico also had reason for including in the expulsion all monastic orders, including the Sisters of Charity, on the ground that their object here was "the subjugation of our people to a foreign despotism that has its seat in Rome;' 84 Mexico The situation then in 1873, when the Methodist Episcopal Church discovered "the open door" and heard the call, was as follows: 1. Church and State had been completely divorced, a free constitution adopted, and full liberty guaranteed. 2. The vast ill-gotten property of the Church had been confiscated and secularized, whose enormous revenue so often had supported revolutions in the interests of despotism. 3. Liberty of speech, of press, and of public worship had been granted. 4. A system of public schools, such as would never have been permitted under the priestly regime, existed. The Bible, first circulated by colporteurs following in the wake of the American army in 1846-47, now being distributed by the British and Foreign Bible Society broadcast, which good work was later energetically prosecuted by the American Bible Society, who at the present writing have twenty-five agents in the field. Such eloquent facts in this erstwhile priest-ridden and down-trodden country The Macedonian Cry 85 clearly indicated a challenge to the Evangelical Churches of the United States. While the country at large was thus Providentially opened up, the religious condition of the people constituted a loud call for help. Mexico was conquered three hundred and fifty years before by a nominally Christian nation, who not only withheld the Bible from the Mexicans, but also from their own people in the home land. Boasting of baptisms by the thousands, their priests gave comparatively little attention to the application of the gospel to the hearts and lives of the converts. Hence after three and a half centuries of Spanish Roman Catholicism, Mexico stood before the world a stupendous example of lost opportunities so far as Christianity was concerned. Judged by Roman Catholic, authorities themselves, Mexico had not been Christianized. Madame Calderon de la Borca, a devout Catholic, wife of the first Spanish minister to the Republic of Mexico, wrote so convincingly on this point that it is said that her book was taken off the market in Eng 86 Mexico land and America by priestly influence. Among other things she says: "The cross was planted here in a congenial soil, and, as in pagan East, the statues of the divinities frequently did no more than change their names from those of heathen gods to those of Christian saints, and image-worship apparently continued, the poor Indian bows before visible representations of saints and virgins as he did in former days before the monstrous shapes representing the unseen powers of the air, the earth, and the water; but he, it is to be feared, lifts his thoughts no higher than the rude image which a human hand has carved. He kneels before the image of the Savior who died for him, before the gracious form of the Virgin who intercedes for him; but he believes there are many virgins of various gifts, possessing various degrees of miraculous power and different degrees of wealth, according to the number of the diamonds and pearls with which they are endowed�one even who is the rival of the other�one who will bring rain when there is drought, and one to whom it is well to pray in seasons of inundation.'' The Macedonian Cry Abbe Emanuel Domenech, who certainly can not be suspected of being unfavorable to his own Church, arraigns that Church as follows: "The Mexican faith is a dead faith; the abuse of external ceremonies, the facility of reconciling the devil with God, the abuse of internal exercises of piety, have killed the faith in Mexico. . . . The idolatrous character of Mexican Catholicism is a fact well known to all travelers. . . . The mysteries of the Middle Ages are utterly undone by the burlesque. ceremonies of the Mexicans. . . . The Mexican is not a Catholic; he is simply a Christian, because he has been baptized. I speak of the masses, and not of the numerous exceptions to be met with. .. . If the Pope should abolish all simoniacal livings and excommunicate all the priests having concubines, the Mexican clergy would be reduced to a very small affair. . . . The clergy carry their love of the family to that of paternity. In my travels in the interior of Mexico many pastors have refused me hospitality, in order to prevent my seeing their nieces and cousins and their children." 88 Mexico In our own day there came to Mexico a learned missionary from Germany, a direct envoy from the Pope for special work here. We knew him well. He told the writer not long since that he was astonished to find how idolatrous and superstitious his own Church was in Mexico, and he then startled us with the following confession: "The Mexicans are not Christians ; to them the Virgin of Guadalupe comes first, Hidalgo second, and Jesus Christ third" He knew also that he was making this awful admission to a Protestant missionary. Many other testimonies from the same source might be added. Then there is our side of the question. (a) The Bible is still a prohibited book in Mexico. Within a few days we have known it to be burned on the streets, and the ashes left on our doorsteps, (b) In every Church in the land you may see a dead Christ and hear but little of the living Christ; this is simply typical of what is offered to these millions, (c) In some Churches ancient idols are found on so-called Christian altars to this day, the only change being that the Indian The Macedonian Cry 89 idol is called by the name of some saint of the Catholic calendar, (d) At best it is a sacramental Chrisatianity, with penances and bodily sufferings offered to that God who said of such things, "I will none of them," and who is pleased to accept only the offerings and merits of his own Son in the sinner's stead. (e) Indulgences are still sold publicly, notwithstanding the denial of certain authors in the North, (f) After three and a half centuries of so- called Christianity, the ancient idolatrous feasts of the Indians are still mixed with Romish services, not only in rural districts, but within three miles of the capital, and in some sections the knowledge of God and His Christ is as crude as among the half- civilized Africans. Surely, then, here is a real call! Besides all this there is a significant fact not generally known. As the result of Bible and tract distribution and the dissatisfaction of many with the old Church, little groups of Evangelicals were springing up all over the country worshiping in a very primitive way. -New Testament times were re-enacted in scores of places 90 Mexico by "the Church in the home." In two or three of the larger cities confiscated Church edifices had been secured, and public services established. At the national capital the movement acquired considerable strength. A few prominent and worthy priests had renounced Romanism and joined them � notably Manuel Aguas, Agustin Palacios, Francisco Aguilar, and others. Realizing their need of outside help, they appointed a committee to proceed to New York and plead with Evangelical Churches for such help. It was a genuine "Macedonian cry." Dr. Henry C. Riley, then preaching to Cubans in New York City, answered their call. The American and Foreign Christian Union, and later the Episcopal Church, supported him. He dreamed of a great National Church. At first he did much good, but his dream proved unpopular. The work was later taken over formally by the Episcopal Church, but not till a supreme opportunity had been lost. Before all this Miss Malinda Rankin, of Illinois, had heard the call, and with great heroism crossed the Rio Grande and planted The Macedonian Cry a number of small congregations in the vicinity of Monterey. James Hickly, Thomas Westrup, and a few others also responded, and planted congregations in the northern part of the Republic in the early sixties. As these noble toilers grew old or passed on to their reward, their flocks were adopted by some one of the organized missions, for in the early seventies several of the leading denominations in the home land had heard the call and responded. The wonderful development of Mexico under the able administration of General Porfirio Diaz only emphasizes the call for missionary work. He, under God, has given thirty years of uninterrupted peace to the country. As a result, instead of 567 kilometers of railway we now have 16,386 kilometers. Importations have increased from eighteen to seventy-five million dollars gold, and exportations from twenty-seven to two hundred and seven million. Instead of a deficit there is an annual surplus, and Mexican bonds are above par in London. Banks are multiplying, mines developing, and factories going up all over the land. It is re 92 Mexico ported that Americans have $750,000,000 gold invested here. The government now spends over $9,000,000 silver annually for education, and has three times the number of children enrolled as in 1876. Surely these are "signs of the times" we may well consider. CHAPTER X. PLANTING THE: MISSION AND LOOKING FORWARD. IN a certain sense it was historically significant and singularly coincidental that, on the 19th of February, 1873, William Butler, the first Superintendent of the Methodist Missions in Mexico, should enter the port of Vera Cruz and, with his family, land upon Mexican soil at the very spot chosen by Hernan Cortes three hundred and fifty years ago. But how vastly different the mission of William Butler and that of the Spanish adventurer! In 1856 Bishop Simpson had commissioned him to the "East Indies" among the Aryan race, to lay the foundations of work identical to that missionary task undertaken in the "West Indies" among the Aztec race. Both races alike needed the kindling light of a religious conviction deeper than mere words or national worship. The trail of the serpent polluted the Indias, East and 93 94 Mexico West. The murderous fanaticism of Juggernaut, and the fierce and flinty faith in Huitzilopochtli, alike bespoke the deep spiritual need in India and in Mexico. Bishop Gilbert Haven preceded Dr. Butler by about two months, chiefly in order that the missionary appropriation for 1872 should not lapse, but be available for property required in the planting of the new mission. The bishop was a passenger on the first through train of the newly constructed railway between Vera Cruz and the capital. That was on Christmas-day. On December 26th he drew on the Missionary Society for the ten thousand dollars needed, and then awaited the arrival of the superintendent. Together they visited Mexico City, also Puebla, then regarded as the Ecclesiastical Capital of the country, and later Pachuca, one of its greatest mining camps. Two interested laymen of the North generously supplemented the appropriation, and they were enabled to secure desirable properties in the first two mentioned cities. This was done in a manner clearly indicating the guiding hand of Providence. The story Planting the Mission 95 of the two acquisitions is thrillingly told in "Mexico in Transition," published by the Methodist Book Concern. Dr. Thomas Carter was the next missionary sent, but he only remained a short time. Dr. William Cooper, a Presbyter of the Episcopal Church, joined the mission, but failing health compelled him to return to the States a year later. In May, 1874, Rev. C. W. Drees and the writer reached Mexico. Dr. Drees now honors the Church in South America. Rev. S. P. Craver and Rev. S. W. Siberts followed in 1875. The planting of Methodism in Guanajuato is a lasting monument to their faith and Christian heroism. Since then many other faithful toilers have joined the ranks for a shorter or longer period. To Miss Mary Hastings and Miss Susan M. Warner, who arrived in 1873, belong the honor of pioneering the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society in Mexico. They, assisted by the wives of the early missionaries, laid broad and deep the foundations upon which the Misses Loyd, Limberger, Purdy, Temple, Bohannon, Hewett, and others built magnificently. For the names 96 Mexico of the worthy men and women who made possible the present results of Methodism in Mexico, refer to the reports of the two societies. The Church has sent some of its noblest sons and daughters to this field. The geography of the mission was wisely planned. Strategic centers, such as Mexico City, Puebla, Pachuca, Orizaba, Oaxaca, Miraflores, Queretaro, Guanajuato, Silao, and Leon are now nearly all provided with good headquarters. The properties of both societies are worth to-day more than a million dollars silver. We are now working in the Federal District and in eight States of the Republic. The work made sufficient progress to justify the organization of an Annual Conference in 1885. Bishop Harris presided. There are now in the field eleven married missionaries, ten missionaries of the Woman's Society, twenty-nine native ministers, thirty local preachers regularly employed, and some fifty school teachers, a number of whom are exhorters. There are one hundred and fifty preaching places, with over six thousand members and probationers. Four thousand three hundred Planting the Mission 97 children were enrolled in the Methodist schools this year, and these Mexican schools are rapidly winning the confidence of the people, and helping to break down fanaticism. The Mexico Methodist Institute is located in Puebla. Dr. Valderrama is president, and Dr. Borton is dean of the Theological Department. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society not only cooperates with its excellent schools for girls, but supports Bible women in several cities, and recently set apart one of their American ladies, Miss Harriet L. Ayers, for evangelistic work in this capital. In recent years medical work has been regarded as necessary in nominally Christian lands. The Presbyterian brethren set the example with their success in Zacatecas. Our people enlarged upon their plans, when in 1890 medical work was opened in Guanajuato and Silao. Dr. Salmans was the pioneer in the Methodist medical missionary work. He was joined by Dr. Hyde soon afterwards. Our hospital and two dispensaries treat thousands annually, many of whom would not come under gospel influence in any other way. The wife of Mis 7 98 Mexico sionary Cartwright in Leon is a physician, and unaided by direct missionary appropriations she reaches many others. Thus in three cities the "healing art" opens the way more fully to carry out the glorious commission which our Lord delivered to "the Seventy" and to their successors. Next to evangelistic work the press is our most important agency; indeed, in many cases our tracts, papers, and books go where no living missionary could go. Hundreds of times they have been a real "John the Baptist." Nearly every congregation in the country can trace its origin to a copy of the Bible, a New Testament, a tract, a paper, or a book left by some one, or sent through the mail to that place. Annually we send forth from four to five million pages of saving literature. In 1876 William Butler procured the money, by personal solicitation, for the establishment of our publishing-house. Rev. J. P. Hauser, recently appointed agent, is the first missionary to devote his entire time to this department of the work. God raised up from among the Mexicans some splendid workers�Palacios, Tovar, Planting the Mission Gamboa, Loza, Euroza, Valderrama, and others�who would be a credit to the Church in any land. Upon them especially depends, under God, the redemption of Mexico. One of the most encouraging "signs of the times" is that men like Zapata, Chagoyan, and Mendoza are developing into earnest and successful evangelists. As we write these lines a gracious revival is in progress at this capital, conducted almost exclusively by native pastors. Each morning they meet for prayer and consultation, while every evening large congregations gather, and souls are being saved daily. Similar notices reach us from other places. There is "a moving among the mulberry trees." The future is full of radiant promise. We are working for a noble race and inspired with a glorious aim. Our fifth chapter revealed one side in the character of the Spanish conquerors. But there is another side. The perpetrators of the awful deeds there mentioned were born and died without a true knowledge of the gospel. But the victims of their cruelty, numbered by thousands, had 100 Mexico enough of the life of heaven in their souls to bear their sufferings with marvelous heroism. Many of them were truly noble characters. The fall of the Aztec Empire presents a picture of heroism worthy to be written in letters of gold "with the point of a diamond and the hand of an angel." Guatemotzin, the last emperor of the Aztecs, had fallen into the hands of gold-thirsty "conquistadores." Having failed in every other effort to extort from him the whereabouts of the famous hidden treasures of Moctezuma II, they bound the royal prisoner hand and foot, laid him on stone slabs, and hung his fettered feet over the flames. The avaricious Cortes and Alderete hoped thus to compel their victim to reveal the secret. But in the midst of his excruciating pains he cried out: "He who has resisted famine, death, and the wrath of the gods is not capable of humiliating himself now like a weak woman. I threw that treasure into the lake four days before the siege, and you will never find it." And they never found it. In our day descendants of this brave emperor have proven heroic martyrs for Planting the Mission 101 the truth of God. When we began our work, persecution, instigated by fanatical priests, was met on every side. Twenty- nine martyrs bathed the foundations of our Church in Mexico with their royal blood. Heroic men and women were they! Epigmenio Monroy, our pastor in Apizaco, is a noble example. Returning one evening from a preaching service in an adjoining town he was cruelly beaten and cut to pieces. About midnight he died, charging his family not to prosecute his slayers, and praying as did his Master on the uplifted cross, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.'' Such lives not only glorify any righteous cause; they do more. They raise humanity nearer God. After all it is not a question of race, but of religion. Give to any nation civil and religious liberty, free them completely from priestcraft and superstition, bring to that nation "the life and liberty of the sons of God," and they will indeed "arise and shine," for their light has dawned. Will the superb Methodist Episcopal Church do its great part toward this glorious consummation in Mexico? Beckoning opportunities stand at the open door. Date Due