THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC 995 



Madre, running along for some distance 

 by the banks of the Rio de Tehuantepec, 

 then cutting off across country to Salina 

 Cruz, the Pacific port. 



Here the Httle Indian village of years 

 ago has given place to a new town, built 

 on higher ground and dotted here and 

 there with comfortable bungalows, the 

 homes of English residents. 



Fierce ''northers" rage on the isthmus 

 the greater part of the year, and the long 

 swell of the Pacific causes a heavy surf. 

 As no natural shelter exists, it was found 

 necessary to build one — an outer refuge 

 harbor, and an inner harbor with dry- 

 dock and wharves. This dry-dock, one 

 of the finest in the world, and the 

 wharves, steel warehouses, and gigantic 

 cranes make a most up-to-date port. 



It is difficult to realize the immensity 

 of the work accomplished on the isthmus. 

 Less than six years ago the conditions 

 were very bad ; fever and death or shat- 

 tered health lurked in the forest, and 

 heavy tropical rains destroyed in a few 

 hours the labor of days. To one who 

 has lived and traveled in these tropics 

 before the advent of the steam horse, 

 it is an odd sensation to enter a comfort- 

 able Pullman car and be rushed smoothly 

 through the primeval tropical forest at 

 the rate of 50 miles an hour. Humble 

 natives with burdens on their backs stand 

 staring at this monstrosity, which with 

 a warning screech flashes by. 



The country through which the rail- 

 way runs is in many respects of great 

 interest. The tropical nature, the many 

 different tribes of Indians living along 

 the rivers and in the hills, their pecu- 

 Har customs and picturesque garb fur- 

 nish an interesting study. 



DESCENDANTS 01^ ONCE-POWERI^UIv 

 TRIBES 



The different Indians today inhabiting 

 the isthmus, descendants of once-power- 

 ful tribes, still show enough distinctive 

 characteristics to enable one to judge of 

 their ancestors. The Agualulcos, Az- 

 tecs, Huaves, Mijes, Zapotecos, and 

 Zoques are among these. 



The Agualulcos and Aztecs dwell in 



the northern part of the isthmus. 

 Though outwardly conforming to the 

 Catholic religion, they still retain many 

 of their old customs and superstitions. 



Among these Indians the memory 

 of Dona Marina, or Malinche, as the 

 Indians called her, is still revered. 

 Although acting as interpreter and guide 

 to Cortez, she seems to have been greatly 

 beloved by the Indians. In Jaltipan, her 

 native village, there is an artificial mound 

 about 40 feet high, called the "Hill of 

 Malinche," and the natives, who still be- 

 lieve that Malinche is buried beneatn 

 this hill, contend that some day her spirit 

 will return to sweep away the cloud that 

 has hung over them since the Conquest. 



The Mijes live in the mountains to 

 the west, in the town of San Juan 

 Guichicovi. They are exceedingly igno- 

 rant, bold, and rather repulsive in ap- 

 pearance. History classes them as hav- 

 ing been at one time the most brutal and 

 idolatrous of all the isthmus tribes. 



The greatest ambition of a Mije is to 

 possess more mules than his neighbor. 

 Just why is hard to understand, as they 

 prefer to carry their burdens on their 

 own back. 



They get good crops of maize, beans, 

 and rice from their milpas, which are 

 well taken care of, but they work fit- 

 fully, are great drunkards, and very dis- 

 honest. 



The Zoques, who live in the moun- 

 tains between the Chichijapa Valley and 

 the Rio del Corte, are, like the Mijes, 

 very fond of tequila, the native alcohol, 

 but more industrious, and of a more 

 pleasing appearance. 



The Huave tribe, now dwindled to a 

 thousand or two, live in a few towns on 

 the Pacific coast. They are very differ- 

 ent from the other tribes, and claim to 

 be descended from a powerful tribe in 

 Peru. 



The Zapotecos, who inhabit the greater 

 part of the southern division 'of the isth- 

 mus, are hard working, gentle, and in- 

 telligent, and at one time were a highly 

 cultured nation. 



The various Indian languages are 

 now little else than ill-spoken dialects 



