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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Reared to military discipline, his pun- 

 ishments are severe, and the enemies he 

 has made are bitter in their opposition ; 

 but the mass of the people, while fearing 

 his wrath, honor him for what his strong 

 will, recognized ability, and patriotism 

 have achieved for Mexico. 



Those who see onlv evil in all that 

 Diaz does and by reason of autocratic 

 conditions place upon him the responsi- 

 bility for all acts of subordinates, do 

 injustice to Mexico and to its President. 



Opportunity to judge President Diaz 

 at close range, in his executive office in 

 the National Palace and in his Chapul- 

 tepec home, presented to the writer a 

 manly man of strong personality and 

 quick perception, prompt to act, courte- 

 ous to callers, and evidently ready to give 

 attention to suggestions which appeared 

 to be for the ultimate good of his native 

 land. 



valley OF MEXICO 



The broad azotea of the castle of Cha- 

 pultepec overlooks the City of Mexico, 

 with its multitudinous flat-roof buildings 

 accentuating numerous towers or domes 

 of cathedrals and churches, and the few 

 high buildings of modern construction. 

 The imposing groves of ancient cypress 

 trees in the adjacent park, Mexico's 

 oldest inhabitants, have lived through 

 many stirring epochs, for the ground 

 occupied by. this city has been stained 

 with human blood as have few areas 

 of equal extent. This was the site of 

 Tenochtitlan, generally accredited to the 

 Toltecs, a people who preceded the Az- 

 tecs ; also the scene of the reputed mag- 

 nificence of Montezuma's dynasty, de- 

 scribed as a populous municipality, with 

 excellent laws, established courts, able 

 craftsmen, and evidences of a civilization 



long antedating the knowledge of our 

 own portion of the continent — a civili- 

 zation in strange contrast with human 

 sacrifices on the Teocalli and cannibalism 

 accredited to the Aztecs. 



It was here that by a combination of 

 skill, diplomacy, generalship, and fanati- 

 cism Cortes, with a relatively insignifi- 

 cant force, overpowered numbers and 

 superstition and laid waste the Aztec 

 capital. 



The excesses, accompanied by loss of 

 life, subsequently committed by the In- 

 quisition in the name of religion for the 

 aggrandizement of Spain, and in part 

 glossed by the excellent structures which 

 were built, need not be recounted. 



P)itt history tells of the numerous po- 

 litical convulsions which were initiated 

 in or disturbed the city in the efforts of 

 various aspirants to be leaders of the 

 new republic, troops besieging or ravag- 

 ing as one after another sought to estab- 

 lish himself as President, Emperor, Dic- 

 tator. The investment by the United 

 States troops, the capture of Chapultepec. 

 and the fall of the capital ; the occupancy 

 of the city by the European allies, when 

 Maximilian was enthroned, and its sub- 

 sequent recapture by the Mexicans, aid 

 in presenting a varied but sanguinary 

 historical vista. 



The protecting rim of mountains en- 

 circling the valley of Mexico ; the snowy 

 crests of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl ; 

 the quiet waters of the lakes, materially 

 reduced in area by a comprehensive 

 drainage system extending for 50 miles ; 

 the cultivated fields and the surrounding 

 hamlets, each with its church ; the lines 

 of smoke from industrial chimneys and 

 locomotives, combine to suggest peace 

 and prosperity, which all hope may con- 

 tinue in our neighbor, Mexico. 



