284 A CALIFORNIA TRAMP. 



volcanic mountains rising back of it. The population of three 

 thousand was a mixture of Spaniards, Negroes and Indians, 

 so mixed that you could hardly tell which was the predominant 

 race. And what a set of degenerate beings they w^ere ! The 

 men lazy and thievish, the women disgustingly licentious, the 

 children precocious in aping the vices of their parents ; all of 

 them bearing the fruits of immoral living in their listless, at- 

 tenuated frames, which were reeking with scrofulous diseases. 

 These half human wretches get their living mainly from the 

 vessels stopping here for coal and water, and the passengers 

 thereof who venture ashore. The last are annoyed to despe- 

 ration's brink by troops of beggars, thieves and itinerant 

 merchants, who pester them from their landing to departure. 



The plaza, or public square, of Acapulco was a lively place 

 in the afternoon. One side was taken up by the stands of 

 venders of all sorts of merchandize, who were shouting forth 

 the merits and cheapness of their wares. They would wa^day 

 passengers, and if they could not induce them to buy, they 

 would roll out some sonorous and trilled Spanish oath. At 

 one place an old hag was presiding over a gambling table, 

 where she was dealing " monte " to an excited group of natives 

 and passengers, the latter taking to the business quite natu- 

 rally. Occasionally a dispute would arise between the beldam 

 and the " backers," when the voice of the former would arise to 

 the shrillest pitch and then gradually decline, as her anger 

 subsided. Scantily robed women passed through the square 

 on their way to and from the public fountains, with large 

 earthen jars poised on their heads ; and little donkeys, half hid- 

 den with loads of vegetables and fruits, slowly worked their 

 way amid the motley group. 



When I wrote my notes of travel, or rather, when I ampli- 

 fied them on my arrival home, the temptation was strong and 

 often yielded to, to use foreign terms in my descriptions, and 

 to give the words spoken by Indian or Mexican in their own 



