366 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August i, 1903. 



STEAMER " DOS RIOS ON THE COATZACOALCOS. 



true up-to date hotel spirit, he has the following card in each 



room : 



The proprietors of this hotel are only responsable of lost of valu- 

 able objets or money when delivered to themselves by passengers. 



He handled the English language well, and knew it, and had 

 a profound pity for a physi- 

 cian nearby who put out the 

 sign " Englische Espoken." 

 This hotel man was well worth 

 the journey to Mexico to meet. 

 He is by birth a Frenchman, 

 who came over with Maximil- 

 ian, and, after that unfortun- 

 ate ruler lost his head, elected 

 never to return. He is very 

 short, alert, and is the picture 

 of vigorous old age. Occa- 

 sionally he gets a bit over- 

 Stimulated, and then puts on 

 an immense pair of cavalry 

 boots, and strides about the 

 place, giving orders in a thun- 

 derous voice, and entertaining his guests with reminiscences of 

 European wars that are full of thrill, dash, imagination, and 

 doubtless some facts. 



The hotel was a large rambling one story affair, with tiled 

 floors and small cell like rooms opening out on an inner court, 

 that contained both dining room and kitchen. Each bed room 

 contained two folding canvas cots, each of which had one 

 sheet, one red blanket, and one little striped pillow that was as 

 hard as if stuffed with shot. There were also two chairs, a 

 table, and a wash bowl and pitcher of agate ware. The one 

 window opened to the floor, and to keep thieves out and guests 

 in was latticed with half inch iron bars. It was luxury, how- 

 ever, when compared with the native huts, and we rested well, 

 and had no adventures. To be sure I did have a queer expe- 

 rience the first night, when I lay for a while with one hand 

 hanging down by 

 the side of the 

 bed, and on draw- 

 ing it up soine- 

 tking dropped 

 off with a soft 

 thud that had 

 me wide awake 

 in an instant. A 

 light and a search 

 revealed nothing 

 and I came to 

 the conclusion 

 that it was one 

 of the small vam- 

 pyre bats that 

 are common in 

 Mexico, and that 

 alight so gently 

 on man or ani- 

 mal that even if 

 wide awake they 

 do not know it. 

 So common are they, and so troublesome, that horses and mules 

 are invariably kept under cover after dark, as these little blood- 

 seekers rarely venture into houses. 



The next morning it was quite cool, as a norther was blow- 

 ing, and the thermometer registered only 95. On arising we 



THATCHED VILLAGE ON THE "UliERn PLANTATION 



took our clothes in our arms, and, clad only in pajamas, walked 

 down the sandy street two blocks to the baths, where we lux- 

 uriated for an hour or more. After coffee we visited the mar- 

 ket, and saw the far famed Tehuantep c women in their very 

 striking headdress, of which so much is said ; but aside from its 



becoming effect, no one seems 

 to know much about it. I 

 personally was interested to 

 see how it was made, and so 

 walked behind some of the 

 dusky beauties as they 

 marched off, and took a good 

 long look. The headdress is 

 simply a white dress with a 

 wide flounce around the bot- 

 tom. This flounce is starched 

 stiff and put upon the head so 

 that it stands up like a huge 

 ruffle. The rest of the gar- 

 ment, sleeves and all, hang 

 down the back. I almost wish, 

 however, that I did not know 

 this, as the effect is not half as artistic since my eyes were 

 opened. 



There was really little of sight seeing in Tehuantepec ; the 

 market, the /«<•/</<> across the river, the ruins left by the earth- 

 quake four years before, were about all. Perhaps it was the 

 climate, but it was more fun to sit on the brick sidewalk in 

 front of the hotel and watch passers-by. dog fights, and preda- 

 tory pigs than to chase around after information. Anyhow, 

 there was no rubber grown there, and rubber was my errand to 

 the Isthmus. Speaking of dogs, every Mexican and Indian in 

 the hot country is a dog owner on a generous scale. Nor does 

 he care what the breed, or the size, as long as the dog has four 

 legs and a bark. They are, as a rule, a mangy lot, exceedingly 

 lean, and many of them are really half coyote. All are plenti- 

 fully supplied with fleas, which they generously divide with all 



with whom they 

 come in contact. 

 We left Teh- 

 uantepec on the 

 morning when 

 the first case of 

 smallpox was re- 

 ported, not for 

 that reason, but 

 because our visit 

 was ended. It is 

 a curious coinci- 

 dence, but our 

 departure from 

 Coatzacoalcos 

 was marked by 

 the reporting of 

 their first fatal 

 case of yellow 

 fever. 



In spite of the 

 fact that the 

 clock at the El 

 Globo bad stopped, that the town clock in the plaza was slow, 

 and that no one knew within half an hour just what time the 

 morning train left, we succeeded in catching it, and arrived in 

 Santa Lucretia in time for the midday meal. Major Elliott, 

 whom we met on the way down, gave us a hearty greeting, but 



