Part 15

Humboldt says that every night in its spacious halls, well illumined by Argand lamps, hundreds of young men were assembled, some sketching from plaster-casts or from life, others copying designs of furniture, candelabra, and bronze ornaments; admission was free to all; class, colors, and races were mingled together; the Indian beside the white boy, the son of the poorest mechanic beside that of the richest lord. In 1839 all this was changed. Madame Calderon described the casts as mutilated, the engravings injured, and the building in disorder and abandoned. In this state it remained until the return to power of Juarez, since when, with an annual allowance of $35,000, the institution is doing fairly well. The name is changed to the "National School of Fine Arts"; prizes are given for good work; all teaching is free.

The equestrian statue of Charles IV. was completed just at the time of Humboldt's visit. He was present when it was cast, and saw it on its way to the plaza.

The Cathedral was then new, and its massive towers, with the fine plaza in front of it, excited the admiration of the enthusiastic traveller. A few years only before his visit, the great idol, Teoyamiqui, had been discovered, in the time of the eccentric Viceroy Revillagigedo; he would have placed it in the University, but the professors there were unwilling to have it seen by Mexican youths, and they buried it again in one of the corridors of the Colegio. They were persuaded to dig it up in order that Humboldt should see and make a sketch of it.

The Aztec calendar, the stone of sacrifice, and the manuscripts in hieroglyph much interested the great man, but more the natural attractions of the city. One of his favorite haunts was Chapultepec, then in good order, as it was left by the Viceroy Galvez, who first made a pleasure-house there, where Humboldt delighted in the broad view of plain and volcano. He loved to go, as every one does now, to the market-place, to see the stalls of the Indians all hung with verdure. No matter what they sell--fruit, roots, pulque--their booths are ornamented with flowers. He describes the hedge a yard high of fresh herbs and delicate leaves built around the fruit-stalls, and the garlands of flowers, which divided the alleys of the market, spread upon the ground with little nosegays stuck at intervals, making a sort of carpet of flowers. The fruit, in small cages of wood, was ornamented on top with flowers. He describes the pretty sight, at sunrise, of the Indians coming along the Viga Canal in boats loaded with fruits and flowers, from Istacalco and Chalco; and gives an account of the _chinampas_, or floating gardens, on the marshy banks of these lakes. This invention is attributed to the early Aztecs, who cultivated the ground on loose tracts of earth, bound together by roots which were either driven about by the winds or moored to the shore. Similar ones, he says, are to be met with in all the zones. In our day the _chinampas_ do not float, but have the appearance of low, wet gardens, intersected by many channels of water; they are, however, pretty patches of gay flowers cultivated, with vegetables, for the city market, and a trip to Santa Anita, over the still waters of the Viga, must not be omitted from the excursions around Mexico; the scene is charming in itself, and haunted moreover by the long succession of gentle Indians, who for centuries have heaped their boats with flowers, and floated over the dark water chanting low songs.

Humboldt went to inspect the pyramids of the sun and moon at Teotihuacan, and afterwards gave a prolonged study to mines, visiting first Moran and Real del Monte, northeast of the capital, and afterwards Guanajuato. Long before the arrival of the Spaniards, the natives of Mexico were acquainted with the working of subterranean veins to find metal. Cortés says that gold, silver, copper, lead, and tin were all sold in the markets of Tenochtitlan. They either collected grains of native gold in small baskets of slender rushes, or melted the metal into bars, like those now used in trade, represented in Mexican paintings. Humboldt found the methods of mining not advanced from the sixteenth century, without any of the improvements known in his time. The hard work was performed by Indians, the beasts of burden of the mines. They carried out the metal in bags on their backs, going up and down thousands of steps, in long files of fifty or sixty, men of seventy years old, and children of ten or twelve.

The mine of Valenciana, in Humboldt's time the most celebrated of Guanajuato, and the richest then known in Mexico, was not much wrought until the end of the eighteenth century, although it had been somewhat worked by the early Indians and the first Spanish settlers. In 1760, a poor man named Obregon, a Spaniard, began to explore a new vein. As he was a worthy man, he found friends willing to advance small sums from time to time to carry on his work. For several years the cost was much greater than the produce, but the pit grew rich as it became deep, and at last yielded quantities of sulphuretted silver. When Obregon, or, as he came to be called, the Count of Valenciana, began to work the vein, goats were browsing over the hill-tops all about the ravine of San Xavier. Ten years after, on the same spot, the climbing streets of Guanajuato sheltered a large population; and at present it is a flourishing city, surrounded by a region all rich in minerals. The produce from the mine at Valenciana has fallen behind that of other later veins, and scarcely covers the outlay.

Humboldt went from Guanajuato to Valladolid, which had not yet changed its name in honor of the mule-driver, Morelos, who had, however, already begun to study in the Colegio of San Nicholas. Valladolid was a small city of eighteen thousand inhabitants. Humboldt says it contained nothing worthy of notice, but an aqueduct and a bishop's palace. He could not fail to admire the lofty picturesque arches of that aqueduct of warm yellow stone, whose long lines vanish in perspective, shaded by great ash trees. He does full justice to the beauty of Patzcuaro, which he declares would alone have repaid him for his voyage across the ocean. Humboldt spent some time there, and his memory of his visit is still preserved in the name of a lofty hill overlooking the lake, named Humboldt's mountain. The hospitable, courteous citizens of Patzcuaro still point out with pride his favorite points of view. They fully appreciate, as he did, the attractions of their lovely lakes.

The volcano Jorullo, twenty leagues south of Patzcuaro, was first made known to men of science in Europe by Humboldt's account of it.

In the middle of the eighteenth century the site of this volcano was covered with peaceful fields of sugar-cane, cotton, and indigo, watered by artificial means, belonging to the plantation of San Pedro de Jorullo. In June, 1759, for the first time, hollow noises from under the ground began to make themselves heard, and in September a tract of ground three or four square miles in extent humped up like a bubble. Thick vapors, smoke, and flames were seen to issue from this area, which rose and fell like the ocean. Large masses of rock and earth sprung up as if from a chasm, and the highest of these developed into a volcano, which burned steadily, throwing up lava and hot ashes for several months.

The Indians were greatly terrified by such a spectacle, as well they might be. Flames were seen at Patzcuaro, and even at Querétaro, many miles away. The roofs of houses were covered with ashes, and the rich plantations of San Pedro reduced to a barren plain. They believed that some missionary monks who were ill received at the plantation poured out horrid imprecations upon the fertile spot, and prophesied that it should be swallowed up by flames rising out of the earth. Whether these vindictive monks had anything to do with it or no, the hacienda of Jorullo was destroyed, all the trees thrown down and buried in sand and ashes from the volcano. The field and roads were covered with sand, crops destroyed, and flocks perished, unable to drink the infected water.

The eruptions grew gradually less and ceased during the following year, but the mountain, with its extinct crater, remains in the place of the once fertile hacienda.

Humboldt and his companion inspected also the great volcano, the pyramid of Cholula, and the picturesque town of Jalapa. They left Mexico by the port of Vera Cruz, and went to Havana, spending nearly a year in the United States.

XXIV.

REVOLUTIONS.

Mexico could not always remain indifferent to the current of events in Spain. Changes which shook Europe to its uttermost limit raised a tempest whose waves broke with violence even on the remote shores of the province.

Spain, after Philip V., was governed by three of his sons in succession, the last of whom, Charles III., held the throne until 1788. He was a prince of excellent intentions and blameless morals, and through his ministers he brought the country to a degree of prosperity to which it was little accustomed since the days of Philip II.

His good works extended as far as Mexico, where he caused to be founded, in the capital, the Academy of Fine Arts, still in existence. His memory in the days of the viceroys was preserved in New Spain as that of the greatest and wisest of monarchs. His son, Charles IV., succeeded him. It must not be forgotten that the Emperor Charles V. was Charles I. of Spain--fifth Charles only of those of Austria.

Charles IV., in no sense a relative of Charles V., being a Bourbon with instincts and traditions wholly different, was a weak and pitiful sovereign. During his reign came the French Revolution, following close upon the Declaration of Independence of the United States of North America, events which gave cause for reflection to all vassals of crowned heads, and especially to all colonized provinces remote from their heads. Yet Mexico remained loyal in spite of the petty tyranny of the viceroy sent from the court of Charles, Branciforte, an Italian adventurer of low bearing and reputation, who obtained his appointment through the interest of the royal favorite Godoy, "Prince of Peace." This viceroy requested permission to erect a statue of his royal master in the Plaza Mayor of the Mexican capital, nominally himself assuming the charges of the work, though nearly the whole expense finally came upon the city and private individuals. It is an equestrian statue cast in bronze. The king is dressed in classic style, wearing a laurel wreath, and in his hand he holds a raised sceptre. Thus a pretentious statue of a sovereign for whom they cared nothing was forced upon the Mexicans, while his predecessor, Charles III., was left without such honor.

In 1822 the statue was inclosed in a great wooden globe painted blue, so that the sight of a tyrant in his robes need not offend the new-born patriotism of the city. But such feelings have now passed away, and it stands in the _plazuela_ for the observation of loyalist or rebel.

Charles had a son, Ferdinand, with whom, as is frequent in the history of crown princes, he could not agree. Thus when Napoleon Bonaparte, who, passing from conquest to conquest, turned his attention to Spain, both father and son sought the aid, or at least sympathy, of the great conqueror in their family quarrel. Accepting this pretext for intervention, Napoleon carried his armies into the peninsula in 1808. The king and court fled from Madrid, with the intention, very decided for a short time, of seeking refuge in Mexico. This project fell through. Charles abdicated in favor of his son, Prince Ferdinand, who became Ferdinand VII. But Napoleon wanted no Ferdinand VII., and made him renounce the crown. French troops took possession of the capital, and Joseph Bonaparte governed Spain under the title of king until 1813. But the Spanish people resisted the French invasion. Councils were assembled, assuming royal authority, to govern in the name of Ferdinand. This was the beginning of the _Juntas_ which have since played so important a part in Spanish affairs at home and in her colonies.

We will not follow the matter in Spain further than to add that she was freed from the burden of the Bonapartes by the aid of the English in 1814. A year after, the power of Napoleon was at an end.

The Bourbon dynasty was restored in Spain, as well as in France, and Ferdinand VII. was reinstated, with limited powers, however, for in the course of this period of agitation the Spanish people had tasted the cup of independence, and the ancient arbitrary rule of monarch and favorite was no longer tolerated by them. The Marquis of Branciforte, no longer viceroy, declared himself in favor of Joseph Bonaparte, and emigrated to France. His Mexican property was confiscated later and handed over to the authorities.

Here we must leave Spain to fight her own battles.

In the beginning of the new century, Don José de Iturrigaray took possession of the viceregal seat. He was a man of public spirit, and an excellent ruler. He greatly improved the highroad from Vera Cruz to the capital, built the Puente del Rey, since called the National Bridge, protected commerce, and encouraged home industry. He organized a militia, greatly developed the army, and showed himself devoted to the interests of his charge.

But the audiencia then existing, and many Spaniards, as soon as the news of Napoleon's invasion of Spain reached them, imagined that Iturrigaray, who had thus brought the army to an available condition, had conceived the idea of seizing Mexico, and assuming an independent crown for himself. Acting upon this idea, they rose in revolt, took possession of the palace and seized Iturrigaray and all his family, shutting him up in the fortress of San Juan de Ulóa, until opportunity offered to send him back to Spain. An old marshal of the army, Garibay, was made viceroy in his place, but he ruled but a few months, when the central Junta of Spain ordered him superseded by the Archbishop of Mexico. Whatever were the rights of this question, the act of revolt set an example persistently followed in Mexico through the first half of this century. In this experience it was discovered how easy it was to overturn a government; the Mexicans, delighted with their success, wondered why they had never done it before. In this first case, it was the Spaniards, of pure blood, who took the matter into their own hands.

Revolt, independence, were in the air. The policy of Spain had been rigorous in the extreme. Enormous taxes oppressed the people, the colonists had no voice in the making of the laws, which were arbitrary; and their exaction depended on the cruelty or generosity of the reigning viceroy. These rulers, constantly changing, had no opportunity to incorporate themselves with the people. At the best, it was a rule of strangers, in which the individuality of the colony had no chance. Pure Spaniards alone constituted society in Mexico; those of mixed blood were regarded with contempt; while the Indians, native to the soil, counted for nothing.

It was inevitable, then, that revolutions in Mexico should follow those in the rest of the civilized world, but it was hard upon the public-spirited Iturrigaray that its first outburst should fall upon his head. Great agitation followed, and the Archbishop of Mexico had hard work to make good his title received from the Junta Central. He was superseded by the Regency established at home, and Don Francisco Venegas entered the capital as viceroy in 1810.

XXV.

HIDALGO.

Miguel Hidalgo was born in the rancho of San Vicente, between the eastern shore of the river Turbio and the hacienda of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos, in the jurisdiction of Penjamo in Guanajuato, on the 8th of May, 1753, the day of the archangel Miguel, whom we call Saint Michael. His father was a well-to-do farmer, Christobal Hidalgo y Costilla, and his mother, Ana Maria Gallega. Miguel was baptized on the 16th of the same month of the year, in the chapel of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos, and passed his childhood at home with his parents. At a proper age he was sent to school in Valladolid, at the Colegio de San Nicholas, where he pursued his studies until he came to be head of the institution. This school was founded by the good Bishop Quiroga, at the time the Cathedral was transferred from Tzintzuntzan, and was therefore one of the first in the country. This fact, and the greater one, that the Benemérito cura Hidalgo not only taught but lived within the walls, where no doubt he first formed his ideas of independence, makes Morelia very proud of its seminary.

Miguel went to Mexico in 1779 to take sacerdotal orders and the degree of bachelor in theology. This was but three years after the declaration of independence in the United States. He served as curate in several places, and on the death of his brother Joaquin received the curacy of the little pueblo of Dolores.

He was a man of intellectual gifts, and good instruction. He knew French, which was uncommon at that time in his class, and his opinions on all subjects were advanced beyond the average of the period.

His predilection was the pursuit of agriculture, and at Dolores it was his pleasure to cultivate the vine and the mulberry. He established a manufacture of bricks and earthenware in the place, and made himself generally beloved by his gentle and affable deportment, notwithstanding his radical ideas, which were regarded as extreme by his people. In the year 1800, he was denounced before the Committee of the Inquisition for maintaining dangerous opinions, without, however, any serious result. Bold schemes he formed for the rescue of his country from the bondage in which she was held by Spain. In the solitude of his pueblo his strong, well-trained glance fixed itself upon the light which was flooding the world from the rising republic on his own continent. This man, sprung from the people, dared to think of a government by the people. He longed to throw off the yoke, not only of an alien government, but of a haughty class. He wanted Mexico to be Mexico, and not a helpless dependency of a rapidly deteriorating Spain.

Such dreams and ideas Hidalgo imparted to a few other persons, and they became plans. Those who talked these things fell under suspicion, and in Querétaro, an attempt was made to seize a small knot of such men. They were warned, and fled or concealed themselves. Hidalgo, hearing of this, instead of following their example, determined to delay no longer, but to declare independence at once. In this resolve he was supported by another patriotic spirit.

Ignacio Allende was born in San Miguel el Grande the 20th of January, 1779. His father was a Spaniard, Narciso Allende, his mother, Mariana Uraga. Of a noble family, with wealth and good position, he was destined for a soldier, and reached the grade of captain of dragoons.

Fired by the ideas of independence which were smouldering everywhere, Allende made frequent visits to Hidalgo, and with him planned the details for the important step they were meditating. Two officers in the regiment of Allende were of his opinion, and became confidants of the plan.

On the night of the 15th of September, 1810, roused by Allende or Aldama, another of the plotters, Hidalgo rose from his bed, dressed himself quietly, and calling his brother to his aid, with ten armed men, besides their few friends, went straight to the prison and liberated certain men, arming them with swords. This was Saturday night, or rather the dawn of Sunday. At early mass, all the parish were informed of what had happened, and every countryman in the neighborhood took the side of Hidalgo, who thus became the leader, if not of an army, at least of a respectable force of Mexicans. The little band hastened to San Miguel el Grande, which they reached before nightfall the same day.

This movement, started by Hidalgo, is called the _Grito de Dolores_. The little body of eighty men, which soon increased to three hundred, bore for a banner a picture of the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, belonging to a little village church. Their cry, the _Grito_, was "Up with True Religion, and Down with False Government."

Nothing like this had happened ever before in Mexico. That common men, not appointed by the court of Spain, should dare to have an opinion about letters, religion, or government was a thing unheard of. For a while amazement prevented any vigorous steps against them. At San Miguel, the regiment of Allende joined the little band, and a crowd of laborers from the field, armed with slings, sticks, and spades. Out of this raw material Hidalgo organized an army, with himself at its head under the title of general, and Allende as his lieutenant.

At Celaya, their numbers had increased to fifty thousand men--some say more. With such a force and supported by the enthusiasm which prevailed, Hidalgo resolved to march upon Guanajuato, an already rich and flourishing city, the capital of the second largest mining state in Mexico. It is built in a deep, narrow ravine, the houses crowded in steep streets like stairways.

Its inhabitants saw with terror and astonishment a mass of men advancing towards it, armed with strange weapons, but holding the order and discipline of an organized army. The Spaniards, that is the representatives of government, resolved to defend the town, and prepared for the attack.

The Independents were driven back several times. The besieged had entrenched themselves in the strong place, Alhóndiga de Grenaditas, used for storing grain, with the governor of the town at their head; and there defended themselves so well that things were going badly for their opponents, until a little boy, called Pipita, on all fours, with a lighted brand in his hand, shielding himself with a flat tile torn up from the pavement, succeeded in reaching the great gate and setting fire to it, in spite of the bullets which fell about him. Amidst the blaze, the insurgents seized the stronghold by force of arms, and killed or made prisoners all within it. The populace of Guanajuato rose, rushing about the streets and sacking houses and shops. Hidalgo, however, succeeded in restoring order by severe edicts. He established himself in this his first stronghold, to collect supplies of arms and money for his volunteer host. The whole province of Guanajuato declared in his favor, and three squadrons of the regiment del Principe swelled the numbers of his troops.

Just before, on the 13th of September, a new viceroy had arrived in the city of Mexico, little thinking what the nature of his new duties were to be, or that he should be so soon called upon to execute them. Don Francisco Javier Venegas, lieutenant-general of the Spanish forces, had distinguished himself in the war between the armies of Spain and Napoleon. He sailed away from confusion at home, and imagined, very likely, that he was going to settle down to the peaceable monotony of a life in the provinces. He began by calling a Junta of prominent persons in the capital, and among other things proclaimed to them that the Regency of Spain begged the aid of money from their loyal Americans to sustain the war against Napoleon.

Three days afterwards independence was declared in the Grito de Dolores. The viceroy learned that Mexico was not behind the age in revolutions, and that he must call upon his military skill to suppress a formidable rising in its cradle. He ordered all the troops then in garrison at Mexico to Querétaro, increased these forces with rural troops, and sent for marines to Vera Cruz, while he summoned forces from San Luis Potosi, at the north, and even those of Guadalajara, in the west, to hold themselves in readiness.