g from similar stings, and reached
the conclusion that the Mexico was swarming with the creatures. At dawn,
we sighted Vera Cruz, and were soon in the harbor, standing at anchor;
at eight o'clock, we stood upon the wharf, and our journeys in Indian
Mexico were ended.

[Illustration: INDIAN HUT; SANTA ANITA]

[Illustration: GUADALUPE; DECEMBER 12]

CHAPTER XXVII

CONCLUSION

But it was not necessary to go to distant Oaxaca and Chiapas to find
Mexican indians. On the border of the capital city lie Santa Anita,
Iztacalco, Mexicalcingo, Ixtapalapa, and a quantity of other villages
and towns, where one may still find Aztec indians of pure blood,
sometimes speaking the old language, sometimes wearing characteristic
dress, and maintaining, to the present, many ancient practices and
customs. At Santa Anita, for example, one may eat _juiles_ and
_tamales_, catch a glimpse of indian weddings, and delight his eyes with
the fresh beauty of the _chinampas_,--wonderful spots of verdure and
flowers--the floating gardens of the ancient Aztecs. Half an hour, or
less, in the tram-car takes the traveller to Guadalupe, which may be
called the heart of Indian Mexico. There, on the rock of Tepeyac, the
Virgin appeared to Juan Diego; there, in the churches, dedicated in
honor of that apparition, thousands of indians, from leagues around,
gather yearly. On December 12, in the crowded streets of Guadalupe,
groups, fantastically garbed as indians, dance in the Virgin's honor,
and in their songs and dances, modern though they be, can be found
suggestions of the olden time. Now and then, one may witness, what I
saw in December, 1895--a group of indian pilgrims from a distant town,
singing and dancing to the Virgin, within the great church itself. And
near the high altar, where thick glass plates are set into the floor,
letting a dim light into the crypts below, one may see crowds of indians
rubbing the smooth surface with their diseased parts to effect a cure.
On the streets of the capital city, one daily sees bands of pure Otomis
in rags and filth, bringing their loads of charcoal and of corn to
market. Their ugly dark faces, their strange native dress, their harsh
language, make on the stranger an impression not easily forgotten.

Reliable figures are wanting as to the number of pure Mexican Indians.
If the population of the Republic be estimated at fifteen millions, it
should be safe to say that five millions of this number are i