4 A
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE 29, 1913.
Mexican Indians Are a Problem
30
Young Aztec.
tt'opyrlghted, 1913, by Frank O. Carpenter.)
lka.u:u i'itv.-Tne red man
Is a more serious problem In
Mexico than the black man Is
In the United States. This
country has over 16,000,000 peo
ple, and of theso less than
,0ft00o are whites. There are about
S.OOO.OOO pure Indians and 0,000,000 moro
who are red men, mora or less crossed
with the whites.
The pure Indians are practically un
educated, and this Is largely so of ho
mixed breeds. The greatfer part of them
were for years In little more than debt
slavery, and today some millions of them
are mere hewers of wood and drawers
of water on the ranches of the rich
haclendados. 8ome work In the towns
and others live In villages, maintaining
many of the customs of centuries ago.
Within the last few years Mr. Freder
ick Starr has been making studies of the
Mexican Indians. He has traveled from
here across the country down to Guate
mala City, visiting the various tribes and
taking measurements of their heads,
busts and of other parts of their figures.
He has photographed thousands of them
and has made plaster casts of many. A
part of his travels was through the
mountanns of southern Mexico, where ho
found many Indian villages, each village
being a little republic. He found many
new tribes and also mony descendants
of the ancient peoples who Inhabited
Mexico during the days of Monteiuma.
It Is through his researches and those of
other ethnologists that the authorities
here are studying the great political prob
lems which confront them.
Fifty-One Different Ln(naga,
They now know that there arc scores of
different Indian tribes In Mexico and that
each has Its peculiarities. In ISM one of
the chief scientists of the republic, Don
Manuel Orozco y Barra, found that thoro
were fifty-one different Indian languages,
and, In addition, about, slxty-nlno dialects.
He divided these languages Into elevrn
different families and It was later shown
that nearly all of these Indians had usid
Ideographs and employed theta lu com
municating thought .
One of the best known of the IndUn I
Tace at the time Cortes came and tHere,
are miutons or it on the plateau today.
The Asteo civilisation has been so pic
tured by Prescott that many think that
It Is about the only race of Indians In
Mexico. The truth Is that the Axtecs git
the most of their civilisation from the
Toltecs, whom they conquered when they
came here from the north. They .got
their1 religion from them, and also their
calendar and architecture. The Toltecs
built the pyramids of Mexico, and either
they or a branch of this race, known as
the Mayans, constructed the wonderful
cities of Yucatan and those of Guate
mala as well. I have already written of
the ruins of Qulrlgua In the Motagua
Talley, not far from the Caribbean sea. In
Guatemala, which our archeologlsta are
now excavating. They are the remains
Cf temples built by the Mayans, who are
supposed to have gone there from Mex
ico centuries ago.
The Axtecs called themselves Mexicans
and It Is from them that we get the name
Mexico. Their descendants are numer
ous today, but are largely peons who
work for the whites. It Is from them
that the rank and file of the soldlera aro
recruited.
Itnlns of Mltla.
The' most famous ruins- of this tribe lie
.ylthln twenty-flva miles to the southeast
pf OoxacA.CltyftUity are about SCO miles
south of the Mexican capital, and one
can go there by train In less than a day.
There are fairly good hotels at Oaxaca.
Mid from there pne can rcaoh the ruins
by carriage in five or six hours; or, he
pan go by train to San Pablo In an hour
ahd a half and stop at the. hotel there.
In the latter case ho will be r(gbt at the
ftilns and, can easjly spend a day or 10
)n moving about .through ' thsm.
The ruins are those of the ancient city
pf Mltla; they are of great extent. 'and
t,he Indians say that under them lie' th
chambers -.'wherein are stored' the treas
ures of the ancient Zapoteca kings. Some
of the ruins are striking. The Hall of
the Monoliths, for Instance, haj walls
five feet thick and columns of enormous
solid blocks ofVstone eighteen feet long,
four feet high and five feet thick, and
the pillars are porphyry, rising fourteen
a strip of bare akin usually shows be
tween It and th skirt
The skirt makes one think of that of
the Burmans; It consists of a strip of
red cloth several yards long; this Is
wrapped tightly around the hips and
tucked In at the waist. In addition to
this, every woman has a. hulpll for Sun
days and feast days. The hulpll Is a
tare decoration of enormous size, which
Is worn as a sort of headdress) it In
closes the face, or It may extend around
the neck or hang down from the head At
the back like tho war plumes of a Co
manche chief. On dress occasions the
girls wear also full skirts, which are
often heavily embroidered with lace.
These women do much of the work;
they nre thrifty and accumulative: they
aro fond of gold Jewelry and like es
pecially ornaments made of American
twenty-dollar 'gold pieces. Girls may be
frequently seen thus wearing a small
I fortune in gold double eagles, although.
uieir ieex may oe Dare.
Theso people make beautiful blanket
and they do fine embroidery. They have
many queer customs. Marriages are
made, by the parents. The babies do
not creep, but they crawl about on all
fours like a monkey until they are able
to stand.
Not far from, the Hulcholes live the
Coraf, of whom only about 2,600 remain.
These Indians claim to have come from
the east and they look not unlike Ko
reans. Tpoy havo features much like the 1
Anglo-Saxons and they consider them
selves better than the other tribes about.
The Coras marry at fifteen and the
women, keep their beauty a long time,
although their lives are very unsanitary.
Their houses have no ventilation and
they bury their dead In caves.
Frederick Starr estimates that there
are still a quarter of a million of pure
Tarasean Indiana In Mexico. Many yof
these people are found about Lake Patz-
cuara In tho state of Mlchoacan, where
was onco situated Tzuntzlnzoon, a great
Tarasean city. Tho name sounds like
Chinese. This town was visited by the
Spaniards in .1522, and they wrote of its
civilization and arts. They told of the
wonderful feather work, for which tho
people are noted today; of their mother-of-pearl
and bono carvings and of their
skill In enameling.
Here we again seo a similarity between
Two YzidicLns.fnom Veia (?rtr
i
.i X . ru.nSjsa!d, six feet below It! they are as big I call barbarians. They Jhave little to do
race at the time Cortex rum,. nnH thiar-, ...... . ... . . t...i.L . ...i.
arouna as a wniaKy narrei,
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CORRECT APPAUEL FOR MEN AND WOMEN
4
the Mexican Indian and the Chinese. In
southern China Is produced a kind of
bird wing enamel In which the wings of
the bluejay and humming bird are em
ployed. The Tarascaus do much the
same work, getting their materials from
the humming birds of Mexico, of which
there are fifty different kinds, having
feathers of every Bhapo and color, run
ning from sea green to emerald and from
straw color to a fiery red.
The Taroacans have a tradition which
corresponds to our deluge. Their Noah
was called Tespt, and when the floods
catno ho made a great boat and filled It
with animals and birds. As the waters
subsided he sent forth a vulture, but
It remained away, feeding on the dead
bodies which then covered the highlands.
Finally a humming bird was sent forth,
and It came back with a leaf In Its mouth.
The Tarascans believe in tho evil eye,
and they carry charms to ward off Its
effects. They do not like to be photo
graphed, and would rather have strangers
say evil things about their children thali
good things. The same Is truo of somo
of the peoplo of Palestine.
I hear strange stories about tho mar
riage customs of these Indians. They
are said to believe In love charms, and
think the dried little finger of a dead
man will surely bring luck. It takes the
placo of the rabbit foot of the south.
Near Lake Patzcuaro the chief place
courtship, ls-nt the spring, and the lover
watches for his sweetheart to go there
to bring water. When he sees her ho
catches hold of her .rebosa or shawl, and
refuses to let go until she says yes. If
she does so, ho smashes tho Jar .of water
which she has on her head, so that It falls
over her, and her girl friends, thereupon
give her a new Jar with which she can
carry the water home. The next day
the man takes a load of woo.d to the doorj
of his sweetheart's home, and if this Iti
accepted the match Is complete. BhJ
a bounUfit nf vollnw flnwern. which onlnr
Is supposed to bring luck.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
The Persistent and Judicious Use ol
Newspaper Advertising Is the Road to
Business Success.
AND
N GAS
Sanatorium
This Institution Is the only one
in the central west with separate
buildings situated in their own
ample grounds, yet entirely dis
tinct, and rendering Jt possible to
cllaslfy cases. The one building
being fitted for and devoted to the
treatment of non-contagious and
non-mental diseases, no others be
ing admitted; the other Rest Cot
tage being designed for and do
voted to the exclusive treatment
of select mental cases requiring
for a time watchful caret and spe
cial nursing.
Next this Is the Salort of .tho Monoliths,
which Is 100 feet long ,and iO.feet wide;
Its walls are ten feet In height and It has
a floor of cement. Tho dec-bratlon of
Aima maxe you imnK or i'qmpcu. come
ot the floors are In mosaics,, and many
of the structures aro wonderfully carved,
reminding one of the crumbling, temples
and fort at Delhi, In India.
Strange Indians of Northern Mexico,
Borne of the most Interesting of the
Mexican tribes. llYe. In the .northern part
of the country. Chihuahua has, for In
stance, the Casas Qrandes, which lie near
the railroad an the way from Juarez to
Terrasas. These Casas correspond some
what to the homes of our cave dwellers,
save that they are "built on the level
and were of vast extent. They wore, In
short, the first apartment houses on reo-
ord. The chief building Is 00 feet long
from north to' south, arid 200 feet wide
fiom west to east, covering an area of
almost five acres. It sema to have con
sisted of three separate piles, united to
lower buildings. The apartments varied
In size, and the, walls In places were forty
or fifty feet high, Indicating that the
building had six or seven stories. These
buildings were in ruins at the time ot
tho Spanish conquest, and very little is
known ot the people who built them, al
though some suppose them, to date back
to the Moquls.
Some Cave Dweller of Slexloo.
In Chihuahua we havo the Tarahu-
mares Indians, some of whlah still live
In caves, and who are sometimes known
as the American cave dwellers. Similar
homes are to be found In the Sierra
Madre mountains, the entrances being
protected against the 'weather and wild
beasts by stone or mud walls. Some ot
the caves are very large, and 'are reached
by ladders, or by stairways cut out In
side the house. Others of the houses aro
of stone, and some are of adobe, with
roofs of thatch.
The Tarahumares, both women and
men, are noted for their long, flowing.
Jet-black hair. The men pull out all the
hairs from their faces. They say that
whiskers are a sign ot wickedness, and
they believe that the devil haa always a
beard. These people are said to be the
greatest runners on record, and Instances
are known of where men have run 170
miles without stopping. They go on a
slow trot, and keep it up for hours. The
women' can run as faat and as well as
the men, and both msn and women have
moonlight races and other athletic sports.
They sometimes race by torchlight.
The Pima Indlanr, who are found In the
same locality, are much Uko the Tara
humares and the Tepehuarmes, Another
tribe jiearby let their Jtlqgcr and toe nails
grow, In Chinese fashion. They ray that
cutting oft the nails will produce blind
ness, and that It a girl sucks the back
uqne or a ctfr ner Da,cif win grow
curved and she will have the backache.
These tribes are noted for their chastity,
those who fall from grace being publicly
switched.
Hulcholes ot Teplc,
Among the least known Indians ot
Mexico are some in the territory ot Tf pic,
whloh lies on the west coast, surrounded
by Jalisco. Durango and Slnaloa. Her
with tho present troubles, and do not
want anything but to be let alone. They
have their homes In the fastnesses of the
mountains and are so warlike that it
was 100 years beforo the Bpanlards were
able to conquer them. They are nomi
nally converted to Christianity, but they
are practically barbarian and are .said
to be Christiana only when favors are
to be obtained. Many ,of them nre hunt
ers, and they snare deer In nets stretched
between poles.
Some of the Hulcholes look much like
the Chinese, and this reminds me that I
havo seen many Japanese and Chinese
faces among the Mexican Indians. It may
Do that a port of the ancient population
drifted over from Asia across Bering
strait, and came down here through our
country, Tho Hulcholes have a wicker
ohalr which Is Just like the Chinese cane
chalr now In use, and they employ It In
meir religious ceremonlea. It may be
that the custom of wearing lone nails
which I havo mentioned came also from
China.
The Hulcholes are about flv nn nn.
half feet high, and their women aro very
kuuu looking. They wear short skirt
and tunics of cotton cloth which thev
weave upon their own looms. The legs
are left bare and the skirt Is caught In
at tho waist by a girdle. The girdle, like
the obi of Japan, is more costly than any
other part ot the dress. The women wear
necklaces and they have beads in their
ears.
The Hulchole houses each contain hut
one room and the entrance Is low and
oiim.i ukq mai or the Eskimo Igloo, The
houses are circular and they are made of
stone with thatched roofs. The Idols are
kept In caves In the hills.
Mlstrcaa and Kspotccas.
Among the other Indians who have to
be reckoned with, In the Mexico to come,
are the Zapotecas and' the Mtstecas.
Both of these races are nfrted for their
intelligence, and they have already
tfven Mexico some ot Its ablest men.
Benito Jaures. for years the president of
tho republic, waa a full-blooded Zapoteca,
and President Porfirio Dlas bad Mlxteca
blood In his veins. Thes tribes are now
found In the southern slopes of the cen
tral plateaus. You may see thetn in
Pueblo, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Morelos.
It Is said that their ancestors date back
to the time when Mltla, Xochlcaloo and
Zaachlla were built. The Zapoteca were
never subdued by the Axtecs, and they
are now growing in Independence right
along. There aw a great many of them
In Oaxaco, a state whose population is
fully nlne-tenths Indian. Some are to be
found on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
where the women aro noted for their
plcturesqueness and for their independent
ways.
Glrla of Tehnantvpe.
Indeed, the girls ot Tehuantepec are
among the beauties of the North Ameri
can continent. They are aa straight aa
a royal palm tree and their forma an
beautifully rounded. They havo olive
skins, black hair and' eyes and teeth aa
white aa lime freshly slacked. Thslr or
dinary costume , Is a Jacket and skirt,
the former having short sleeves and cut
very low at the neck, so that It exposes
their beautiful shoulders and arms. The
Jacket reaches almost to the waist and
Watch for Another Cashing Sensation
Down in Stephens County, Oklahoma
The eyes of the oil world have already begun to turn toward Southwest Oklahoma particularly to
Stephens County, near tho town of Loco. Wise men who have followed tho oil game in Oklahoma from
its very start geologists who solve nature's mysteries through science newspapers whioh print authen-
tic opinions all are talking, discussing and, looking expectantly to this field. Another tremendqtfs,, sen
sation is likely to soon bo loosed and that very soon. .Indications and comparatively meager develop-u
ment point to tho greatest of all Oklahoma Oil and Gas discoveries in this new fieldv;''-Tho-fpll,owingi"ia''
an editorial from The Daily Oklahoman, Tuesday, June 17, 1913: , , ' , V. " ,
' t
A NEW OIL METROPOLIS '
COMANCHE, down in StophenB county, looms upon the oil horizon, and t
Comanche seems about to burst forth in the oil world &b another Tulsa.
Tho Stephens county oil fields around Comancho have not attracted .
unuBual attention until within a few months. But the development of tho r
oil fields around Comancho is likely to be the surprise of that marvelous ,
mineral growth which Oklahoma has shown since oil and gas havo been v, -
found In such enormous quantities.
.. In tho oenter of a fine farming country, Comanche has mado little fuss ' ' 1v
" about hor oil Interests, having been content to be known as one of the prln-' ' J
1 ' clpal peanut and cotton shipping points ot Southwestern Oklahoma. But ', ';
tho oil and gas industries wero forced upon Comancho by scientists who ...
. ' . went deep Into the earth of Stephens county and successfully put Comancho , ... .
' on tho map as an oil metropolis, which will make some of the other oil
centers of tho stato look to their laurels. It will be well to watch Comanche,
since Stephens county gives indications of becoming ono of the greatest on
fields of the nation.
Oklahoma Diamond Oil and Gas Co. Already Has a Gasser
Estimated at 25,000,000 Cubic Feet Resting on Its
5,000 Acres Near Loco, in Stephens Co.
TMb at less than 70O foet in depth and several different oil and gas sands havo been found at less than
1,000 feet. Oil is already being produced in good paying quantities in several places near this immediato
distriot. Honestly, it looks liko it's going to be Oklahoma's wonder of wonders in oil fields. The Okla
homa Diamond Oil and Gas Company anticipated this early and has secured approximately 5,000 acres
of tho best leasos. ,
The Men of This Company Are Keen Judges of the Oil Situation
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Oklahoma Diamond Oil and Gas Co.
' i 916-917-918 State National Bank Building,
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J. O. Galloway, President. Ohas. P. Oolcord, Vice President.
f-f . W. M. Bonner, Treasurer. . -
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