REV. JOHN W. BUTLER, D.D., OF MEXICO CITY
One of the Founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico.
MEXICO
BY
JOHN WESLEY BUTLER
THE BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS
OF THE
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
RINDGE LITERATURE
150 FIFTH AVENUE, - - NEW YORK
PRICE, TEN CENTS
PRINTED APRIL, 1914
MEXICO
OUR NEAREST FOREIGN MISSION
By John Wesley Butler
Southwest of the United States lies a land as old as Egypt,
as enchanting as the far East, as enticing as Europe, and just
as needy as any Mission field cultivated by our Church. It
is Mexico, our next door neighbor.
PHYSICAL AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
This wonderful land is divided from us by a narrow stream
of water and an imaginary line, constituting a coterminous
boundary of 1,833 miles. On the map the country has the
appearance of a huge cornucopia with its mouth towards the
United States, its smaller end brushing Central America and
its point resting against British Honduras. Its concave side
skirts the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea for 1,727 miles,
and its Western line, washed by the Pacific Ocean for a dis¬
tance of 4,574 miles, describes a large circle. Toward the
south the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is only 120 miles from ocean
to ocean. According to area Mexico has a larger coast line
than any other country in the world. Baron Humboldt called
Mexico "the bridge of the world's commerce." The railway
across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec—with its shorter distance
to the East—will be a powerful rival of the Panama route.
This lends force to the claim of the great German savant, and
emphasizes the theory that the commercial if not the civilized
activity of the world is destined to shift from the Atlantic
to the Pacific. The Tropic of Cancer crosses Mexico about
midway between its northern and southern boundaries.
Area
The country has an area of 767,326 square miles and is nearly
equal in extent to our country east of the Mississippi River.
5
One hundred years ago Mexico was two thirds the size of the
United States. By the treaties of 1845, 1848 and 1853 Mexico
ceded to the United States 930,590 square miles, more than
half her original territory. Seventy years ago, Texas, Cal¬
ifornia, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Okla¬
homa, part of Wyoming and part of Kansas belonged to Mexico.
Whatever may be alleged concerning rights of conquest, war
indemnities, or even the right of Texas to secede, candid stu¬
dents of history will blush for the manner we acquired Mexico's
provinces. Treaties make "vahd" certain issues, but they do
not always take into account the moral factor. Let us hope
that Providence, who wisely overrules all the mistakes of na¬
tions as well as individuals, will help us in some way to com¬
pensate for this injustice done to a weaker nation.
The republic is divided into twenty-seven States, two Terri¬
tories, and one Federal District, the last being organized and
governed like the District of Columbia. Four of the States
lie within the territory of Central America.
Products
The country has resources enough easily to maintain three
or four times the inhabitants it now has. In northwestern
Europe, with inferior natural resources, a population of 180,-
000,000 supports itself on an area about equal to that of Mexico.
Throughout tropical Mexico, high temperature, luxuriant veg¬
etation, and almost constant moisture have, through ages,
led to rock decay and the accumulation of organic matter,
till the land has become immensely rich. In some sections
volcanic eruptions have added their contingent as fertilizers.
In other parts the alluvium washed from the mountain sides
produces astonishing fertility. Everything which Mother Earth
yields in the United States, and its oversea domains, can be
raised in Mexico and often more abundantly. It is largely
a question of altitude to which the planter must accommodate
himself for the best results. The Hon. Matias Romero claims,
"We can raise all the products of the world because we have
all climates from the perpetual snow of the Arctic regions to
the burning sun of the Equator." Mexico's more important
6
products are maize, wheat, barley, coffee, sugar, oranges, limes,
bananas, pineapples, mangoes, alligator pears, zapote, papaya,
tobacco, rice, rubber, cotton, agave, henequen, cactus, cocoa,
vanilla, silk, cochineal, chicle, yucca, ginger, peppermint,
cabinet and dye woods, alfalfa, and various grasses used in
cattle raising.
Arboreal vegetation gives 114 different kinds of building
timbers and cabinet woods, such as oak, pine, cedar, mahogany,
rosewood, and ebony. There are twelve specimens of dye
woods, eight of gum trees, seventeen oil-bearing trees and
plants, besides many which await the study of the scientist.
THE CLIMATE
All Three Zones Represented
There is great diversity of climate in Mexico. Due to the
peculiar configuration of Mexico, climate depends upon altitude
rather than latitude. Three climatic zones are recognized.
The tierra caliente, or torrid zone, lies along the Gulf and
Pacific coast, reaching inland an altitude of 3,000 feet. In
this zone the mean temperature varies from 77 to 82 degrees
Fahrenheit, seldom falling below 60 and often rising to 100;
in Vera Cruz, Acapulco and other ports it occasionally goes
as high as 105. Intermittent and remittent fevers prevail
in the low lands. Yellow fever and black vomit are epidemic,
but due to recent hygienic improvements by the government
these dread diseases are not as prevalent as formerly.
The tierra templada, or temperate zone, rises above the
hot zone from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. The mean temperature
is from 62 to 70 degrees and here we have one of the most salu¬
brious climates in the world, for extremes are practically un¬
known. This zone yields the products of both tropical and
cold regions. Wheat and sugar cane are sometimes produced
almost side by side.
The cold zone is from 6,000 to 8,000 or more feet above the
sea level with a mean temperature of from 59 to 63 degrees.
The great central plateau is most thickly inhabited and is
mostly included in this zone, though even here are deep valleys
which yield tropical products. In the cold zone lies the real
7
MEXICAN STREET SCENE
Mexico of history, the main theater of modern Mexico. The
hills which girdle this zone have yielded immense treasures
of gold and silver, while untold millions are still imbedded in
the rocks.
The rainy season, lasting from June to October, has much
8
to do with the climate and offers the best time of the year for
tourist travel.
In the capital of the country the average rainfall is 25 inches.
In Monterey it has gone as high as 130 inches in a year. In
Jalapa it rains about two thirds of the time.
Its Mountains
Mexico's great frame work is rocky. The Cordilleras were
considered a continuation of the Andes of South America,
originating in Patagonia, and extending along both continents.
But researches made by French engineers during the inter¬
vention estabhshed the fact that the Andes proper terminate
at Panama, and that the Mexican Cordilleras are an independent
range. On the western slope they are known as the Sierra
Madre del Occidente, running the entire length of the country;
and through California they take the name of the Sierra Nevada.
The eastern range runs through many depressions across Texas,
and connects with the Rocky Mountains of the United States.
The two ranges in Mexico are parallel, gigantic walls, cul¬
minating in peaks among the clouds and perpetually crowned
with snow. Between them, protected from the severity of
ocean storms on either side, stretches the great central plateau
for a distance of about 800 miles.
There are five peaks over 14,000 feet high, six over 10,000
feet, and numerous others towering above the surrounding
country. At least ten of these are volcanoes, though Colima
is the only one now active.
Its Scenery
Historians and travelers ahke have lavished praise on the
magnificent scenery in Mexico. It baffles description. Some
compare it to Switzerland. Everything, however, in Mexico
is on a grander scale. The latitude of Switzerland gives a lower
snow line, consequently many more peaks are perpetually
white, and there are numerous lakes, and hence great natural
beauty. However, in Switzerland scenery is confined to a
small territory, while in Mexico it is on a vaster scale, and
the mountains are grander in their heavenward towering.
There are but few rivers in the central plateau. As the
9
country drops suddenly on either side, these rivers, fed not
alone by mountain springs, but by the perpetual melting of
the enormous snow banks of the volcanoes, increase greatly,
and near the coast some of them are navigable for many miles
inland. During the American war a fleet of gunboats passed
Tampico and went forty miles up the Panuco, which is known
as Mexico's Mississippi. Next to the Panuco, the Rivers Rio
Grande, Balsas, Lerma, and Papoloapam are the more impor¬
tant. Three of these empty into the Gulf, and two into the
Pacific.
A LAND OF VNB0X7NDED RESGUIICES
Lempriere, the distinguished traveler and historian, says:
"The merciful hand of Providence has bestowed on the Mex¬
icans a magnificent land, abounding in resources of all kinds
—a land where none ought to be poor, and where misery ought
to be unknown—a land whose products and riches of every
kind are abundant and as varied as they are rich. It is a won¬
derfully fertile country, endowed to profusion with every gift
that man can desire or envy; all the metals from gold to lead;
every sort of climate, from perpetual snow to tropical heat."
Agriculture
Mexico has always been considered a silver-producing
country par excellence. Its agricultural resources have been
but partially recognized. Properly developed, they will prove
a greater source of national wealth than all the mines of the
country. If half the capital hitherto invested in mines had
been used in agricultural pursuits, Mexico would be more
prosperous and more peaceful than it is to-day. A hundred
years from now the mines may be exhausted, but farming, hke
Tennyson's brook, will "go on forever." What has happened
in California in this respect may happen here.
The area of the country may be divided as follows: 5,700
square miles of dense forest, 250,000 square miles of well tim¬
bered land, and about 500,000 square mUes of imcultivated
land. The States of Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Micheacan, and
Chiapas rival Brazil in the production of superior grades of
coffee. Vera Cruz, Morelos, Tabasco, and Tepic are capable
10
of outstripping Cuba in the production of sugar, rice, and tobacco.
The great plateau can produce corn, wheat, and barley enough
for home consumption and even for exportation. The great
extent of "ever green" pasture lands, rarely touched by frost,
can sustain millions of cattle, while coast ranges and many
valleys on the high land are prolific in all tropical fruits. In
the recent years henequen, or hemp, has created scores if not
hundreds of millionaires in the State of Yucatan, where soil
and climate are peculiarly favorable to the production of this
fibre. The States of Vera Cruz, Tabasco, and Chiapas produce
crude India
rubber, while
the guayule
industry has
recently be¬
come a success.
The shrub is
found chiefly in
Durango. The
annual har¬
vest from the
albove prod¬
ucts in 1912
was $500,000,-
000 (silver).
Systematized
and well de¬
veloped agri¬
culture would
mean many making op Mexican "drawn work"
times this
amount for farmers and exporters. Stock grazing, which already
produces $120,000,000 (silver) per year, and forestry, with its
immense supply of mahogany and its great variety of other
rich cabinet woods, are industries encouraged by the government
and which promise abundant returns.
The chief problems confronting agricultural interests in
Mexico are irrigation, lalfor, and land tenure. These prob-
11
lems are now receiving the earnest attention of the government
and encouragement is promised to all bona-fide enterprises.
What has been accomplished in the southwestern portion of
the United States may be expected in the vast arid deserts
of Mexico till they too shall "blossom as the rose."
Milling
Mexico is famous not only because it is one of the
richest mining countries of the world, but because its silver
and gold mines have been worked from time immemorial.
The Spanish conquerors, four hundred years ago, found the
natives of the country producing fabulous quantities of the
precious metals. In his first letter to the Emperor of Spain,
Cortes said: "According to our judgment it is credible that
there is everything in this country which existed in that from
which Solomon is said to have brought the gold for his temple."
Indeed, the Mexican historian claims that Mexico and Peru
were the distant Ophir to which King Hiram sent his servants
—"shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants
of Solomon"—to bring gold for the temple at Jerusalem. If
this be true then there has been some mining here for at least
3,000 years. The process of recovering gold by amalgamation
with quicksilver was known to Maya civilization which ante¬
dated the times of the Aztecs. Among the Aztecs gold was
used more as a decorative or useful material than as a medium
of currency, but transparent quills of gold dust served for
money.
The mines of Zacatecas produced $800,000,000 (silver) since
the conquest. The "Mother Vein" of Guanajuato produced
$252,000,000 prior to the time of the independence.
The States of Chihuahua, Oaxaca, and others have mountains
of valuable ore. Official statistics claim $3,725,000,000 as
the value of the gold and silver output from 1522 to 1879, in
all the country. This means more than one-third the world's
production of silver.
In addition to gold and silver, all the base metals are found
in Mexico, especially copper, lead, zinc, and iron. The famous
"Hill of the Market Place" in Durango is estimated to eontain
12
370,000,000 tons of iron above the surface with unmeasured
quantities beneath.
The mineral resources of the country are far from exhausted.
To the investor and the scientifically equipped engineer the
field is most inviting.
In the older mines of the country religious emblems and
superstitions entered largely into mining. In many cases
the entrance to the tunnels is more like the entrance to a temple.
Elaborate stone doorways, carved figures of saints, surmounted
by crosses, are frequent. Sometimes a chapel rises on the top
of the nearest hill dedicated to the patron saint of the dis¬
coverer of the mine. Oftentimes the poor miner, deep down
in the earth, gropes about in darkness that he may keep his
candle burning at some crude temporary shrine.
At Catorce two million dollars were lavished by the miners
on a splendid church and one million dollars on the Valenciana
Church at Guanajuato. The entrance to the Rayas mine,
at the same place, has above its portals the scupltured image
of Michael, the Archangel. In strange contrast is the fact
that in colonial times a rich mine owner in the State of Jalisco
was denounced before the Holy Office, who in turn accused him
of "invoking the aid of the devil in his work." He was brought
to Mexico City in 1694 and burned alive.
Recently petroleum has been di-scovered in immense quan¬
tities especially on the Gulf Coast. This district promises
to be one of the richest oil fields of the world. The railways
are already using this crude oil for fuel. Exportation to Europe
has also begun.
Manufacturing Industries
This line of industry in Mexico is comparatively modern. The
first cotton mills of the country were estabhshed in Puebla in 1833.
In 1907 there were 142 mills in the country, with an output for the
year of nearly 19,000,000 pieces and sales amounting to S.51,685,954
(silver). The jute factory at Santa Gertrudis, Orizaba, and
the Aurora factory near Cuautitlan are modem plants sending
out large quantities of sacks for ores, coffee, grain, sugar, etc.,
also packing cloth, rugs, carpets, and twine. Woolen, linen, and
13
silk factories have recently been established. Tobacco fac¬
tories and sugar mills, iron and steel plants, and paper mills
are doing a thriving business. Besides these there are guayule
factories, soap factories, and cement works.
The Mexican National Packing Company, Limited, intro¬
duces a new industry into the country and it means great things
for the future in connection with local consumption and export
trade.
Electric Plants
Nature has provided a compensation to the country
for lack of navigable rivers. The topographical conditions
A GANG OF MEXICAN INDIANS AT WORK ON RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION
furnish many torrential water-courses which can readily
be used for generating unlimited power for manufacturing
purposes. Consequently we see well-organized companies,
heavily capitalized, furnishing light and power for farms, mines,
factories, and railways throughout the country. The lighting
and tram service of Mexico City and the Federal District is
equal to anything of the kind in the United States or in Europe.
The Mexican Light and Power Company, a Canadian corpora¬
tion, has its hydro-electric generating stations at Nexcaca,
14
95 miles distant. It furnishes light and power to the City
of Mexico, to many smaller towns, to scores of factories and
estates, besides providing for the great mining camp of El Oro,
76 miles from the home base. The capital of the company,
including shares and bonds, is about $25,000,000 (silver).
Many other companies exist throughout the country and
the day is not far distant when all towns, cities, factories, mines,
farms, irrigation works, and perhaps the railways of Mexico
will be lighted and operated by the silent, unseen, yet all-power¬
ful current, mysteriously conveyed along the wires.
Railways
Fifty years ago the railway from Vera Cruz to Mexico
City with 263 miles of track was the only line in the country.
Now almost every important town has railway connection with
the capital and the outside world. Four lines cross the
Northern frontier, and the Pan American connects with Central
America. Three ports on the Gulf and two on the Pacific have
railway terminals. The entire mileage is now 14,181, the greater
part having been built between 1880 and 1905.
Imports and Exports
Mexico's imports, according to the latest available statistics,
amount to $233,363,000 (silver) and the exports reach .$248,018,-
000, leaving a balance of $14,655,000 in favor of the country.
THE PEOPLE, ANCIENT AND MODERN
Population
There are about 16,000,000 people in the country. Many
believe that were it possible to secure a correct census this
number would be considerably augmented. Nineteen per cent
of the population are of European descent, 38 per cent mixed,
and 43 per cent Indians.
Cortes found hoary empires, cities long lost in ruins, temples
and palaces of whose origin little could be learned, pyramids
ancient as those of Egypt, hieroglyphic inscriptions which time
had only partially effaced, and many evidences of ancient
civilizations in some respects superior to that of the Spaniard.
The history of these ancient peoples, with its eloquent evi-
15
A TYPE OF INDIAN GIRL
IN OAXACA
dences of a departed glory, is highly
enchanting. Sixteen different theories
concerning their origin are advanced,
six claiming a European, four an
African, and six an Asiatic ancestry
for them. Able writers support each
of these theories, some of which be¬
come intensely interesting when Old
Testament history is quoted to sustain
the argument.
Given the fact that 150 languages
are known to have been spoken in
Mexico, it is evident that the early
inhabitants did not all come from the
same .country.
Pa.ssing from the shadowy to the
more certain periods of history, we
find the Otomi from Central America,
the Maya-Quiche from Yucatan, and
the migratory Nahuas from the north,
spreading over Mexico. Their mon¬
umental ruins are mute reminders of
a dim and distant past, of which little
is really known. Among these are the
ruins of Uxmal, in the State of Yucatan,
quite recently explored.
Le Plongem claims that the Mayas
planted the center of civiUzation in
Mexico, which later spread as far as
India and Egypt, and finally to Greece
and western Europe. In the State
of Chiapas, as well as in Guatemala,
are the Palenque ruins, said to be
older than the flood.
The mysterious pyramid of Cholula
is an artificial mound, probably built
for worship. Quetzalcoatl, the hero
of Lew Wallace's "Fair God," who
16
visited Cholula, was believed by an early Mexican writer to
be the apostle Thomas, who thus introduced Christianity on
this continent.
About twenty-five miles from the City of Mexico are the
two famous pyramids of Teotihuacan—the Pyramid of the
Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon—both probably built for
worship. They are perhaps the most ancient monuments in
America. With the buried city near by, these pyramids are
the Mecca to which many an archaeologist wends his way.
When the Spanish conquerors came, these ruins were so
old that Toltecs and Aztecs could give but scanty information
concerning them. Vague traditions were current as to the
coming of those "Giant architects, the Shepherd Kings of
Egypt," or other mysterious people, at some remote period
from beyond the seas.
Native Races
The indigenous people in whose evangelization we are par¬
ticularly interested are descendants of the races found here
by the Spanish conquerors, that is, Toltecs, Chichimecas, and
Aztecs.
About 700 A. D. the Toltecs crossed Bering Strait, migrated
slowly along the Pacific, and finally established in the heart
of the country a dynasty which endured 500 years. They
loved peace, were devoted to mechanical arts and agriculture,
worked the metals and excelled in architecture. They be¬
lieved in a Supreme Being and regarded their chief priest as
His Vicar on earth. Four years later came the Chichimecas,
who spread as far south as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
These in turn were followed by the Aztecs, who established
the capital of their empire where now .stands the City of Mexico.
This dynasty endured for 300 years. Under the two Monte-
zumas it reached the acme of grandeur and extent. They ruled
with rare wisdom. They fostered agriculture, horticulture, and
irrigation. They manufactured cloths of finest texture. They
excelled in mining and in the knowledge of astronomy. They
had a well-organized system of money, weights and measures.
Their political, theocratic, military, and social systems indi-
17
cated a high order of civilization. They were worthy of a better
fate than that brought to them by the Spaniards. Had another
race come to Mexico in the sixteenth century a very different
history of this noble people might now be written.
At present these indigenous people are divided into seventeen
classes speaking 180 languages and dialects, though these can
hardly be called written languages, and they are fast disap¬
pearing with the spread of the Spanish.
Millions of these people have been only superficially influ¬
enced by the Roman Catholic Church. Such writers as Abb6
Domenech and more recently Carl Lumholtz, Frederick Starr,
and others show that large portions of them are gros.sly idol¬
atrous, excessively superstitious, and that they believe in omens,
witchcraft, and divination. Their annual festivals at the shrines
of "miracle-working saints" are a strange mixture of pagan¬
ism and Christianity. On such occasions it is frequently true
that bacchanalian madness has its charms for the poor Indian.
„ ^ SPAIN AND THE HOLY OFFICE
Cortes
The story of the conquest has been written in many lan¬
guages. At least two Spaniards reached Mexican shores before
Cortes, though they failed to penetrate inland. Cortes came
in 1519 and fought his way to the ancient capital. No doubt
the old tradition that the mysterious white man, "the God
of Peace," who in the distant past had disappeared from the
very coast where Cortes landed and had promised some day
to return and "possess the land," had much to do with the
conquest of the millions of Mexico by a handful of European
adventurers. On the other hand, the story of the fabulous
wealth of the natives served as a powerful incentive to the
white man, and a feverish "disease of the heart" which only
gold could cure, took possession not only of the leader but also
of his men. On November 8, 1521, after many a bloody en¬
counter, they reached the Aztec capital, and that day marked
the dawn of Spanish dominion over a proud, pathetic people.
At that time Cortes, "the greatest natural leader of men
since Julius Caesar," wrote to King Charles V: "From what
18
I have seen and heard concerning the similarity between this
country and Spain, its fertility, its extent, its climate, and
its many other features, it has seemed to me that the most
suitable name for this country would be New Spain and thus,
in the name of your Majesty, I have christened it."
Subsequent events justify the assertion that the "christening"
meant the starting of a stream of blood and gold which has
not ceased to flow, even to this day. Down through the cen¬
turies it has brought suffering and death to thousands of inno¬
cent victims. No wonder that in all Mexico there is no
monument to perpetuate the memory of Cortes.
From 1635 to 1821 there were 61 viceroys. Spain sent over
some men of benevolent disposition, but in the main the rule
was that of iron despotism in which priest and soldier bore
equal part. One of the cruel features of their reign was the
system of reparlimieyitos and encomiendas by which the
Indians were made serfs to the Spaniards. In some cases
brutality was carried to the extreme of branding the unhappy
slaves with hot irons as though they were cattle. Good men
such as Bishop Quiroga and Bishop Las Casas protested often
but vainly against these atrocities.
The Inquisition
In 1571 came the Inquisition, with its dark and bloody deeds,
to add to the affliction of an oppressed people. The awful
autos de fe continued to torture and kill their victims while
the Inquisitors, clad in ecclesiastical robes, sat calmly by and
saw them roasted alive at the stake or dismembered at the
rack, generally for no other crime than that of differing in
opinion from their would-be religious guides. These atrocities
went on in "the holy name of Jesus" for 250 years, accumulating
a record of crime and cruelty that might well make all good
men shudder, and the angels of Heaven weep.
Recalling the bitter strife which characterized the found¬
ing of Spain and the ferocity of many of its early kings—espe¬
cially Ferdinand and his father—in hunting unhappy heretics
like wild beasts; recalling also that after burial many persons
were tried and convicted, torn with hyena-like fierceness from
19
the grave and added to the funeral pyre, one is not much sur¬
prised that this diabolical institution was brought over seas
into poor Mexico and embraced people of both sexes and of
every social class. Attempts at resistance were futile, for
the agents of the Holy Office were frequently aided by the
iron hand of military power.
The good Bishop Las Casas, writing about the cruelty of
these Spani.sh conquerors and inquisitor.s, says: "Several hun-
A ROMAN CATHOLIC FORM OF BURYING THE DEAD
dred thousand of the native inhabitants (of the West Indies)
had perished, miserable victims of the grasping avarice of the
white men." And these men came to Mexico under the leader¬
ship of Cortes as "defensores fidei."
Pope Alexander VI, the only Spaniard ever elevated to the
Papal chair, had a day dream. He thought to convey to their
Catholic Majesties of Spain and Portugal the entire American
continent, whose people were to be converted to Christianity
20
by military aid. This dream also came recently to Pope Pius
IX. The dream as a whole failed most miserably, though
Louis Napoleon and Maximilian attempted to assist Pius IX
in its realization. "The conversion" of the Mexican people
under the eloquence of "spike and gun" was fully verified.
The cross was substituted for pagan idols. In many cases
it became merely an affix. To this there are many evidences
of the amalgamation of Christian rites with heathen ceremonies.
Even Roman Catholic authors admit this fact. How could
it be otherwise when the priests boasted of from 10,000 to 20,000
conversions a day?
The Viceroys
The absolute powers given to the viceroys resulted in par¬
titioning the land among the conquerors, and in establishing
a system of excessive tribute which included even children
of fourteen years. Then followed compulsory service in the
cultivation of the .soil, amounting to slavery. Hence we see
the poor Indian tilling his own God-given lands for the benefit
of task masters from beyond the seas. When the day's toil
wa.s ended, the drove turned in to "hear mass and be instructed
in the faith." Generally fifty or more Indians were allotted
to each Spaniard who owned them body and soul. No voice
was allowed the native, not even the Creoles, in the conduct
of government. Taxes for the crown and tithes for the church
made life miserable. Commerce and industry were restricted.
The death penalty was attached to any attempt to trade with
others than Spaniards. One fifth of all the gold and silver
was for the king. He monopolized trade. In addition to
fees paid to the priests, the crown levied a tax on the forms
and ceremonies by which the poor people were led to a knowl¬
edge of "the true faith."
A still more pernicious practice, which left its baneful m-
fluence on the moral fibre of the race, was the selling to the
new converts of all kinds of licenses for sin. The "Bull of
Composition" permitted the priest to relieve a person who
stole goods from the obligation of restitution upon the pay¬
ment of a price depending on the value of the goods. It was,
21
however, stipulated that the same person could not purchase
more than fifty of these licenses per annum. Pecuniary mor¬
ality may have suited the priests, but it did not make a better
people. All these centuries have not overcome the poisonous
influence of these licenses. The gospel in its purity alone
can do that. This gospel the Roman Catholic Church has
failed to give the masses, although it has flourished in Mexico
four hundred years.
CASTING OFF THE YOKE
The dawn of the nineteenth century brought to the long
oppressed millions of Mexico the echo of world events in the
North and across the seas.
Three Great Influences
The first of these events was the action of the British colonies
of North America which severed the link with the mother
country, established the republic of the United States of
America, and issued to the world the eternal declaration that
"all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness"—a declaration which not only
crossed the Rio Grande into the land of our Next Door Neigh¬
bor, but which sent its pulsations like electric vibrations through
Central America and down along the Andes to Cape Horn.
The second event was an echo of American independence
in the French Revolution.' In itself this was a great blow to
"the divine right of kings" and a recognition of the natural
rights of the people.
The third event was the Napoleonic invasion of Spain. In
1808 the unfortunate dissensions in the royal family led to
the Treaty of Bayonne, the abdication of the king, and the
transfer to the French Emperor of all the rights and titles of
Charles IV, both at home and abroad. That year the Spanish
government recognized the independence of the United States.
On September 15, 1808, the Spaniards in Mexico seized the
viceroy Jose Iturrigaray and deported him from the country
on the plea that he was not loyal to the Crown. These events
as they became known had a deep influence, on the people,
22
and led them to believe that the time was ripe to cast off the
galling yoke of foreign control. Like their brothers in several
of the South American colonies similarly influenced at this
time, the Mexicans began to plan to this end.
The Galling Yoke
Some time prior to the time of Viceroy Iturrigaray, the Mar¬
quis de Croix had added fuel to the fire by a proclamation
containing the following paragraph; "Let the people of these
dominions learn once for all that they were born to be silent
and obey, and not to discuss nor to have opinions in political
affairs." But these oppressed people could not longer remain
silent under the wrongs which had continued through the cen¬
turies. The galling yoke became too heavy.
They cried aloud, as did our people in 1776, and the French
in 1789, and indeed as did our forefathers in 1640 and 1688,
when they rescued from the battleground of 400 years that
grand Magna Charta extorted from King John, planting
it as the Constitution of a free and liberty-loving people which,
as Macaulay says, was "a model for all the other free Con¬
stitutions of the world."
Hidalgo
In the Mexican struggle for a God-given birthright, Miguel
Hidalgo y Costilla was the people's leader, the first of a line
of valiant men and women. He was the parish priest of Dolores,
in the State of Guanajuato. His town was humble, but it be¬
came the cradle of Mexican liberty. Hidalgo took a deep
interest in everything which concerned the welfare of his flock.
He taught them trades, planted vineyards, cultivated mul¬
berry trees, established silk factories and music schools, and
at the same time looked after their spiritual needs! But he
was also working for the larger parish—his native land. About
midnight, September 15, 1810, the venerable curate went into
his little church, and ringing the bells called his flock around
him to tell them of his plans for independence. As some of
his associates in the scheme had been betrayed into the hands
of the Spanish authorities, they must act at once, he said, and
23
Chlhuallua
Wijias,
orTW>
luxango.
Mazatlai?
Zac;ateft
VlcolrfnaV/® ■
Vr"-'^/-..- Mor«"n-o\
Manzanil)?v^>,vM 11 C H C^A(S A
m /
Socorro I.
Acapulc
RO
RAILROADS
COMPLETED, CONSTRUCTING & PROJECTED
Mexican Railway, marked No. 1
Mexican Central " '* 2 _
Mexican National, ** *' 3
Sonora, ** " 4
International " " 5
Mexican Oriental *' "6
Mexican Southern, " ** 7
Inieroceanic. *' " 8
Tehuaotepec, *' " 9
Yucatan, *' "10
Hidalgo, " *'11
C.H.MOR.GAN
no
MEXI
SCALE OF Ml
Mobile
Galveston
Hidta of- the
g^^io Grande
Matamovos
J.Iorida
>.10 T
ValJlatVoT^
—*1
"Y^: S..IuaiY\qT!^f I
. } Bauti>luN^^T J
I A P A 1 ^
iSanV^ ^ I
s,;;" ^uYIV|ala^
oGLiatemala
f cteeli::;e
I SRlAl s It
HQf^O u R A
/ A\jt A C A)
Oaxaeti>..;- /
•lel'iiantei'oejl
TriixiUo
oComayucca-
o^N I C A R
'SanJuoA£.
V Jticara^^
^Panama
not wait for December, as originally intended. Before sunrise
he marched out of Dolores at the head of an undisciplined
but resolute little band of men and women, ready to sacrifice
all for liberty. Their cry of "Long live Mexico" found ready
response in the hearts of thousands in this down-trodden race
who quickly flew to arms.
Almost at the outset their venerated leader was captured,
degraded from the priesthood, and shot. But the martyr's
blood was not shed in vain. The entire nation was aroused.
Against great odds, but with ever increasing courage, they
continued the hard struggle eleven years, showing courage
worthy of the lovers of liberty in any age or land. Part of
the year they tilled the soil, and the rest of the time they were
found in the ranks of the army. Now they scattered for the
protection and provision of their families, and again returned to
rally round the flag.
Patriotic Devotion
For the most part, they equipped and supported themselves.
Their women acted as quartermasters, purveyors, and nurses.
No Red Cross organization ever excelled them in devotion.
At last God crowned their prolonged sacrifices. In 1821 Mexico
became free from Spanish tyranny and despotism—just 300
years after the arrival of Cortes.
Shortly after Hidalgo was captured, he received a letter from
the viceroy offering pardon in case he and his men would lay
down their arms. To this offer the intrepid leader replied,
"We will not lay down our arms till we have wrested the jewel
of liberty from the hands of the oppressors." Nor did they.
Many leaders fell and thousands from the ranks were sacrificed,
yet others quickly took their places, bent on securing that
precious "jewel." When in 1821 they viewed the promised
land, they knew that the struggle for real national life had
only begun.
In due course all was carried to a successful issue, though
Pope Pius VII in 1816 and Pope Leo XII in 1824 issued Encyc¬
licals recommending fidelity to the Spanish monarch. Indeed,
all the infallible (?) Popes of Rome together could not have
24
put an end to this movement, nor to the contemporaneous
movements in South America, since all such were born of Heaven.
True, Hidalgo fell, but the God of nations raised up other
leaders. Notable among these were Matamoros, Gurrero,
Bravo, Mina, and Morelos—noble hero of a hundred battles,
who, like Hidalgo, was betrayed to the Church. Soon there¬
after he became the last victim of the Inquisition in Mexico.
This patriotic priest was a soldier even greater than the
father of the independence. His celebrated defense of Cuautla,
which lasted from February 19 to May 1, 1812, was one of the
most heroic battles ever waged on the American continent.
Its fame crossed the Atlantic and called forth highest com¬
mendation from the Duke of Wellington.
Some have thought that if Charles III in 1783 had accepted
the advice of Count Aranda, and had established three great
empires in the Americas, the bitter struggle and great loss
of life leading up to independence might have been avoided.
Avoided, we think not, but probably deferred to a later date,
for the seed sown by the Puritans in New England, the Quakers
in Pennsylvania, and the Cavaliers in Virginia, not only pro¬
duced a republican form of government in the North, but for¬
ever made clear to the old and the new world alike, that mo¬
narchical governments were uncongenial here or anywhere else
in the Americas.
PRIESTLY EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE YOKE
Government by Clergy
During the long struggle for independence the clergy of
Mexico were the chief support of the Spanish government.
In colonial times the archbishop was always "the power be¬
hind the throne," and whenever a viceroy died or Was removed,
the archbishop assumed the office until the arrival of the new
appointee. All through the three centuries of Spanish rule,
with rare exceptions, the clergy were more political and simo-
niacal than spiritual. When the real struggle for independence
came, barring the exceptions already mentioned, at every step
of the way in transition toward civil and religious liberty, the
priests were invariably against the best interests of the people.
25
^ The Hon. Matias Romero, for many years the able and
diplomatic representative of Mexico at Washington, always
a member of the Roman Church, states that when patriotic
priests fell into the hands of the Spaniards they were always
tried by the Inquisition as transgressors of divine law, and
as heretics then handed over to the military, who subjected
them to a second trial for the purpose of extorting information,
and finally, like Hidalgo, Morelos, and Matamoros, were shot
without mercy. Mr. Romero adds: "The highest dignitaries of
the Catholic clergy in Mexico attempted to make the common
people believe that aU patriots were heretics and devils, and
that the object of the revolution was to destroy the Catholic
religion." All leaders in the cause were immediately exeom-
municated. Several of the higher clergy, and at last the Bishop
of Oaxaea took up arms against the movement.
Iturbide
Independence once an accomplished fact, Iturbide was pro¬
claimed emperor, but, not going far enough to suit the Church
party, he was soon deposed and exiled from the country. A
republic set up under the Constitution of 1824 was almost
immediately attacked by members of the Church party and
by them overthrown in 1835. Santa Ana and the conservatives
opposed a federal form of government in favor of a strong
centralized one. One revolution followed another so that
between 1821 and 1868 the form of government was changed
ten times.
Spain finally recognized the independence of Mexico in 1836,
though not till after she had sought to regain her lost provinces.
In 1833 Santa Ana started his ambitious career, beginning as
a liberal and developing into an ultra-reactionary leader of
the Church party which repealed the Constitution of 1824,
and in 1836 proclaimed a new Constitution which, not being
conservative enough to meet their wishes, was followed by
another in 1843. But the liberal party succeeded in repeal¬
ing both and restoring the original Constitution in 1846.
Four foreign wars afflicted the Mexicans in the nineteenth
century, and in each ca.se the clergy "did not hesitate to cause
26
a revolution when the country was invaded by a foreign nation,
and to use for that rebellion the troops which were intended
for the defense of the honor and integrity of the country" (M.
Romero). It is even asserted that the archbishop made over¬
tures to General Scott during the American War for the estab¬
lishment of a firm government under the control of the clergy.
It is needless to add that these overtures found no response
on the part of the American general.
At the battle of Churubusco in 1847, our army reported a
loss of 1,000 men killed or wounded. "This was caused,"
says General Cassey, "by the presence of more than 200 de¬
serters from the American army, mostly Irish Catholics who
had been persuaded lo desert by the instigation of the Mexican
Catholic priests." A similar treachery had occurred only a few
months previously in General Taylor's command at Monterey.
Juarez
In the meantime the liberal party, which stood for patriot¬
ism and human rights, was gathering strength. At last, when
the Church party had filled up its measure of abuses, again
the cry went forth against tyranny and oppression. These
were the very wrongs which caused the second revolution of
the seventeenth century in England; the same which Mazzini,
Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel resented in more recent times,
in the very citadel of the Roman hierarchy, and continued to
protest against till they had delivered their people from papal
bondage, and Italy stood before the world, free, happy, and
united.
For this gigantic task in Mexico, God raised up Benito Juarez,
Comonfort, and other noble reformers, who proved themselves
to be worthy successors of Hidalgo, Allende, Bravo, and other
valiant liberators of their country. They established the
Constitution of 1857, basing it on that of 1824.
Under its wise and broad provisions Church and State were
forever separated, liberty of worship and of press guaranteed,
slaves freed and protected, all "fueros" abolished, Church
property nationalized, the military subordinated to the civil
power, commercial treaties and colonization authorized, and
27
foreign enterprises encouraged. But it is specifically true that
the Church promoted and supported the French intervention
in Mexico 1863-67. Its object was to revoke all the provisions
of civil and religious liberty contained in the Constitution
of 1857, encourage the Southern Confederacy, which had already
been acknowledged by the Pope, and ultimately plant a "model
Romish State" on the American continent, which should spread
north and south as far as Jesuitical scheming and Louis Na¬
poleon's armies could carry it. This would have meant a
death-blow to religious liberty, to an open Bible, to the public
schools, and to everything else for which evangelical Christianity
stands.
Maximilian
Maximilian, a Prince of the House of nap.sburg, was their
chosen agent. Accompanied by the ambitious Carlotta, after
having received a special blessing from the Pope, he came
to Mexico in 1864. With French, Austrian, and Belgian troops,
he attempted to subdue a struggling republic, set up an empire,
and restore the Church which so long had crushed the people
instead of educating and Christianizing them. All this occurred
after the Mexican people had repeatedly made known here
and in Europe that they would never again consent to be gov¬
erned by Rome.
Archbishop Labastida proved loyal to Rome, but a traitor
to his country. He gave a royal welcome to Maximilian and
Carlotta and had them crowned in the Cathedral with a great
display of pomp. Abbe Domenech, Maximilian's court editor,
declared that the Monroe Doctrine must be overthrown and
the Latin race, with headquarters on the Tiber, given a career
in America; then "within ten years," he adds, "the United States
will declare a dictatorship." But the collapse of the Southern
Confederacy was the death-knell to the empire and the
Napoleonic-Papal plot. Secretary Seward's note to the French
Court in December, 1865, was the all-powerful ally of the strug¬
gling liberal party of Mexico. Thus in about three years
Maximilian, despite European promises and the blessings of
an infallible (?) Pope, found himseH without an army. He
28
recognized the situation, and actually started on the journey
to Europe, whither Carlotta had preceded him, in the vain hope
of securing new aid from Napoleon and Pius IX. He had
gone about two thirds of the way to the port of Vera Cruz,
when he was overtaken by emissaries of the archbishop begging
him to return, and offering a sufficient native army to sustain
the tottering cause. Thus for the second time the head of
the Mexican Church betrayed his own country. Maximilian
yielded and returned to the capital only to fail in every sense
of the word. History records his sad end at Queretaro a few
months later, Carlotta's complete mental collapse in Europe,
the exile of the archbishop, and the humiliating defeat of the
ambitious and unscrupulous Church party which had wielded
political power for so long.
The Struggle for the Republic
The failure of the empire meant the restoration of the republic,
and the opening of the country to Protestant Christianity.
The immediate instrument under God was Benito Juarez,
"the little Indian," as he is affectionately called by his grateful
countrymen.
Those were days which "tried men's souls." Upwards of
80,000 French soldiers landed on Mexican soil, with an auxiliary
corps from Austria and Belgium. All the influence of the
old Church party, both military and financial as well as that
of the aristocratic element, was against the Liberals. Many
who had hoped and prayed for national life and human rights
despaired. But Juarez never lost courage. His faith was as
strong as his conviction of his country's rights. Neither for¬
eign soldiers, diplomatic pleadings from powerful thrones, nor
papal anathemas swerved him an inch from his chosen path
—a path in which he believed himself guided of Heaven, whose
blessing he frequently invoked. This remarkable man, a
pure Indian of the noble Zapotec race, was born of obscure
parentage in the State of Oaxaca. From humble beginnings
he rose to be an eminent lawyer, and a statesman of whom
any nation might be proud. The title by which he will always
be known in Mexico history is the "Father of Reform."
29
His principal characteristics were profound attachment to
Liberal principles, clearness of intellect, remarkable common
sense, great moral courage, unimpeachable integrity and honor,
ardent patriotism, tenacity of purpose, and devotion to civil
government, the qualities out of which true patriots are made
in any land. Castelar called him "the savior of the honor
of his country." Our own W. H. Seward declared that he
was "the greatest man he ever met." Such was the man who
came to be the standard bearer of the hberal party. Under
God he bravely faced and defeated the Napoleonic-Papal intrigue
of the nineteenth century, which had for its object the Roman¬
izing of the entire American continent.
THE WAT PREPARED
The Reform Laws
With the restoration of the republic came the rehabilitation
and enlargement of the Reform Laws. As a natural sequence
all secret religious orders left the country. These orders had
played an important part in carrying out the behests of the
Pope and were dangerous to the very life of the nation. By
the conflicts of the past and the triumph of the people, the
way was prepared for better things.
Anticipating this event Mr. Matias Romero, at a banquet
in New York, October 2, 1867, said among other things: "Our
policy will be then to enforce our laws which will allow the free
exercise of all rehgions and give no preference to any; which
will provide a perfect separation between Church and State;
to establish a system of free schools, which will educate the
masses of our people and make them productive and happy;
to encourage the immigration of peaceable and laboring citi¬
zens of the United States, who will assist us in developing our
resources; to invite the investment of the surplus capital of
the United States in Mexican enterprises."
The Reform Laws were incorporated into the Constitution
of the republic in 1873. The prepared situation was then as
follows:
1. Church and State completely separated and full religious
liberty guaranteed.
30
2. The vast ill-gotten property of the Church, whose enor¬
mous revenue had often supported revolutions in the interests
of despotism, was confiscated and secularized.
3. Liberty of speech, press, and public worship granted.
Marriage declared to be a civil rite.
4. A system of public schools, such as would never have
been permitted under the priestly regime, inaugurated.
ROME'S BEQUEST TO THE NATION
According to Church authors, after four hundred years
of Roman Catholic supremacy, Mexico as a whole has not
been Christianized. Three testimonies will suffice to prove
this assertion.
Idolatry and Superstition
(a) A well-known foreigner, who has been several
years in this country as a special missioner from Rome,
and all the time actively engaged in chmch work, told the
writer not long since that he was astonished to find how
idolatrous and superstitious his own Church in Mexico was.
He made the following confession: "The Mexicans are not
Christians; to them the Virgin of Guadalupe comes first. Hidalgo
second, and Jesus Christ third." He knew that he was making
this startling statement to a Protestant minister.
Religious Confusion
(b) Madame Calderon de la Barca, herself a devout Roman
Catholic, wife of the first Spanish minister to Mexico, after the
mother country had recognized the independence of this republic,
wrote so many plain facts concerning her own Church that it was
asserted her book "Life in Mexico" was bought up and destroyed
by the priests. At any rate, if it is found in the book market
it will cost the purchaser three or four times the original price,
though published simultaneously in London and Boston. Among
other things this Catholic writer says: "The Cross was planted
here in a congenial soil, and, as in the pagan East, frequently
the names of the statues of their divinities were changed from
those of heathen gods to those of Christian saints; and image
worship apparently continued, though the mind of the Chris-
32
tian was directed from the being represented to the true and
only God .who inhabits eternity. So here the poor Indian
bows before visible representations of saints and virgins, as
he did in former days before the monstrous shapes representing
the unseen powers of the air, the earth, and the water. It
is to be feared he lifts his thoughts no higher than the rude
image which a human hand has carved. He kneels before
the image of the Saviour who died for him, before the gracious
form of the Virgin who intercedes for him, but he believes
there are many virgins of various gifts, possessing various de¬
grees of miraculous power and different degrees of wealth,
according to the quality and number of the diamonds and
pearls with which they are endowed; one even the rival of
the other—one who will bring rain when there is drought,
and one to whom it is well to pray in seasons of inundation."
A Dead Faith
(c) Abb6 Emanuel Domenech came to Mexico in 1865 as
chaplain to the French troops. After the collapse of the em¬
pire he was directed by the Vatican to make a tour of the country
and report on "the moral and religious condition of the clergy
and Church." Among other arraignments of his own Church
we find the following: "Mexican faith is a dead faith. The
abuse of external ceremonies, the facility of reconciling God,
the abuse of internal exercises of piety, have killed the faith
in Mexico. . . . The idolatrous character of Mexican Cathol¬
icism is a fact well known to all travelers. . . . The mysteries
of the Middle Ages are utterly outdone by the burlesque cer¬
emonies of the Mexicans. . . . The Mexican is not a Catholic.
He is simply a Christian because he has been baptized. I
speak of the masses and not of the numerous exceptions to
be found. . . . The clergy carry their love of the family to that
of paternity. In my travels in the interior of Mexico, many
pastors have refused me hospitality in order to prevent my
seeing their nieces and cousins and their children." And this
from a Roman Catholic.
Why Evangelical Christianity is Needed
Our own observation confirms the foregoing testimonies.
33
We have never seen them contradicted by any author or traveler.
To the above we would add the following: (1) The Bible is still
a prohibited book in Mexico. If on sale it is generally at a
price beyond the reach of the poor. The only edition of the
Bible ever printed in Mexico cost .S150. It appeared in 1833.
We have known the Bible to be burned on the streets of the
third largest city
of the republic.
These facts will
not seem so
strange to the
reader of the re¬
cently published
Catholic Encyclo¬
pedia, which, on
page 545 of Vol.
II, quotes the
Papal attitude
toward Bible cir¬
culation as fol¬
lows; "You are
aware, venerable
Brothers, that a
certain Bible
Society is impu¬
dently spreading
through the world,
and despising the
traditions of the
Holy Fathers and
A NATIVE INDIAN CHRISTIAN WOMAN OF MEXICO the decree of the
Council of Trent,
is endeavoring to translate, or rather pervert the Scriptures in¬
to the vernacular of all nations." (Leo XII in 1824). (2) In
ever3'^ Catholic Church in the land you may see a dead Christ
and hear but little of the living Christ. This is typical of what
is offered to these hungry millions. (3) In some churches
ancient idols are still found on so-called Christian altars, the
34
only change being that the Indian idol is called by the name
of some saint in the Catholic calendar. (4) At best it is a
sacramental Chri.stianity with penances and bodily sufferings
offered to that God who said of such things: "I will none of
them," and who is pleased to accept only the offerings and
merits of His own Son in the sinner's stead. (5) Indulgences
are still sold publicly, notwithstanding the denial of certain
authors in the North. (6) After three and a half centuries of
so-called Christianity, the ancient idolatrous feasts of the
Indians are still mixed with Romish services, not only in rural
districts but within three miles of the capital. In many places
knowledge of God and his Christ is as crude as among the half-
civilized Africans. The idolatry, superstition, and drunken¬
ness of Guadalupe, Ixtapalapa, Amecameca, and like places
must be as offensive to Almighty God as like things in Madura
or Benares. (7) Illiteracy and immorality abound as they
do only where Rome has been supreme for centuries. Thirty
per cent of the registered births are illegitimate and many are
never registered. (8) The degradation of the vast majority
of the people, living in miserable huts, without the ordinary
comforts of life, with no regard for health conditions, herded
like cattle and like them sleeping on the cold or damp earth;
in a word, practically no better off than when the Roman Catholic
Church came here nearly four hundred years ago, all this is
not only condemnatory of the Roman Church, but is an eloquent
argument for the need of another Church, which wiU love
and not exploit the poor. (9) The desecration of the Sabbath
with bull fights, cock pits, gambling in the open, horse racing,
debauchery, and manj^ other things reminds one of the terrible
conditions in England in the eighteenth century. They cry
to heaven as loud as in John Wesley's time. Mexico and all
Latin nations turned away from the Reformation and the
open Bible. Hence this doleful picture.
"COME OVER AND HELP US"
A Definite Continuing Call
The needs of these people constitute a pathetic Macedonian
cry falling upon the ears of those who represent the Church
35
of Christ. The additional fact that the country has been
so long distracted with internal strife lends emphasis to the
cry. Every ill affecting this people in the past, present, or
future can find an infallible remedy in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. That gospel has not and will not be given them by
the Church which came with the Spanish conquerors. What¬
ever that Church may be in the United States or in other Prot¬
estant countries, here and in all other Latin countries it seems
to have received such a fatal twist from its primitive simplicity,
through the influence of crusaders and inquisitors of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries, as to make one despair of its ever
coming back into harmony with the plan of Jesus Christ for
the salvation of the world. The cry from Mexico.'s millions,
"Come and help us," should find an echo in every soul which
knows the truth as it is in Jesus. Before any Protestant mis¬
sionary had come to this country, a committee of Mexican
gentlemen, two of whom were priests and all of whom had lost
hope that Rome would give them the gospel, went to New York
city and pleaded with the evangelical churches of our country to
"come over" and help save their fellow countrymen. AU who ask
why evangelical Christianity is in Mexico would do well to medi¬
tate upon this fact. It is the only case of its kind in modern times..
In a sense, this call is carried to the North by a constant
flow of emigration. Better wages, kind treatment, the atmos¬
phere of our free institutions, and the enjoyment of the peace
conditions which exist in the United States draw thousands
of Mexicans thither every year. Not less than 200,000 of them
are in Texas; an equal number is in California; 20,000 of them
are in Kansas along the railway lines. These with the large
number found in New Mexico and Arizona constitute more than
half a milhon Mexicans now in the United States. It is simply
pitiful to think of so many of them—according to the testimony
of pastors in the homeland—wandering about Sunday morn¬
ings hke "lost sheep," looking for a place of worship. They
sadly need shepherding. Most of them sooner or later are
hkely to return home. Let our people treat them properly
and lead them to Christ and everyone returning will be a mis¬
sionary, and not a revolutionist.
36
1
SOME RESULTS OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF
METHODISM IN MEXICO
Founding the Methodist Mission
William Butler, who had founded our Mission in East India
in 1856, was chosen by the same Bishop, Matthew Simpson,
to plant Methodism in the West Indies, or Mexico, and reached
his new field of labor in February, 1873. Both races needed
the kindling light of a religious conviction deeper than mere
words or material worship. The trail of the serpent polluted
the Indies, East and West. The fatal fanaticism of the Jugger¬
naut and the fierce and flinty faith in Huitzilopochtli, bespoke
alike the deep spiritual need in India and Mexico. The broad
vision of the Superintendent planned as many strategic centers
as the liberality of the Church would permit us to occupy in
a whole generation. But we occupy them all. God has been
pleased to set his seal of approval on every such center. In
some cases we have met intense persecution. About thirty
of our people have proven that "the blood of the martyrs is
the seed of the Church." The names of Epigmenio Monroy
and others will shine through the ages as worthy pioneers of
a glorious line of men and women "who counted not their lives
dear" unto themselves. There was a special providence in
our coming to Mexico. Repeatedly we have been so guided
from above in putting down our stakes, that no one could doubt
that God wanted us here. Two or three brief illustrations
will suffice.
When looking about for suitable headquarters in the City
of Mexico, we found that most property holders were too fanat¬
ical to sell to a Protestant. Our Superintendent, Dr. Wm.
Butler, providentially came in touch with a Roman Catholic
Irishman who had been in India during the Sepoy Rebellion
as a soldier under Havelock. The Superintendent had often
preached to Havelock's Highlanders. This good Irishman
and our Superintendent had never met until they came to¬
gether seventeen years later in the City of Mexico. The Roman
Catholic became the agent for the purchase of a desirable prop¬
erty which perhaps no broker in town could have secured for us.
37
Methodism Administered from America's First Convent
This property was part of the old convent of San Francisco,
the first convent built on the American continent. It had
passed into secular hands, in common with all church property
sequestered under the Constitution of 1857. It was in turn
a theatre, a National Congress Hall, and a circus headquarters.
Interest in the building increases as we recall that it stands
where Montezuma had his pleasure palace. It is now the
headquarters for Methodism for the entire republic. Here
are accommodated the native and English speaking congre¬
gations, our printing press, our editorial and book rooms. Here
reside two native pastors and two missionary families.
About one mile west of headquarters is situated the Sarah
L. Keen College of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society,
housed in one of the most modern and attractive buildings
of the city. Two miles further west, in Santa Julio, is located
the Annex, or Industrial School, the first of its kind under
missionary auspices to be opened in the republic. It was
started two years ago as an experiment, but already we are
wondering why we did not have it long ago.
Puebla was perhaps the most levitical city of the country.
Secret police shadowed our missionaries when they first entered
there, to keep them from harm. We were repeatedly warned
to keep away. But the same Providence which guided us
in answer to the call, defended and directed us in planting
this work. An American Jew had acquired a part of the old
Inquisition of Santo Domingo. Dr. Butler found him out.
In those days he was the only one who would have "dealings"
with the Methodists. For three hundred years the Inquisition
had kept both Jew and Methodist out of the beautiful city.
Now, years after the Inquisition had lost its power, and under
the protection of the new order of things, the very building
in which the diabolical institution had carried on its terrible
work becomes the center for teaching and preaching a gospel
of love and mercy for God's suffering children.
When the republican army occupied the city of Puebla, a
search was made in this building for men who had mysteriously
38
disappeared. A few survivors were found. But when some
one suggested that the enormously thick walls might tell tales,
a sounding process with iron tools revealed twelve cells, con¬
taining human beings who had been walled up alive in the very
clothing they wore. when they were "spirited away." After
we acquired the property one more cell was found. Our people
removed a human skeleton, and converted the cell into a crockery
cupboard for the use of our school boys. Let us never forget
from what unwritten cruelties civil and religious liberty has
redeemed poor Mexico. Let us remember that the only power
which will keep these millions from drifting back to those dark
days is the power contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND SCHOOL, ZAACHILA, MEXICO
If our readers could see our beautiful church, our two pros¬
perous schools with over 700 Mexican youth, many of whom
will go out to teach and preach all over this fair land, they
would surely thank God for our beginning, and would cooperate
more liberally toward the strengthening of our hands in this
great work. The Woman's Foreign Missionary Society has
seven consecrated American teachers and over 500 girls in its
magnificent school at Puebla.
In Pachuca, a State capital and a rich mining center, we
39
found Cornish miners holding class meetings, and a Mexican
physician, who was more of a Protestant than a Christian,
preaching in a hall Sunday mornings, and presiding over bil-
hard tables in the afternoons and evenings. He was soon led
into a real religious experience. This caused him to give up
the billiard tables and to preach a better gospel. We now
have three magnificent properties at Pachuca, full services
in two languages, and about 800 children in our schools, main¬
tained by the two Societies; besides outstations scattered over
the State. The School of the Woman's Foreign Missionary
Society in this city has a larger enrollment than any other
single school of the Society in aU the world. Last year the
enrollment was about 700.
In Orizaba we are in a tropical country. It is the chief
town of the district of the same name. Here, too, the Woman's
Society cooperates in educational work. Services are con¬
ducted in both English and Spanish. The work reaches south¬
ward toward the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The territory
covered by this district is one of the most hberal and promising
in the country. Our hands should be strengthened here, and
the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society should open a board¬
ing department, for in Orizaba we must educate teachers for
all the coast region, as for health reasons they will not come
in large numbers to our schools on the highlands.
Queretaro, where Maximilian was executed, and where ended
the last attempt of the European powers to plant ah empire
on American soil, is another important center. There are
more Roman churches here than schools, and more priests
than there are pupils in the pubhc schools. Here, where we
once were met by angry mobs, our work has a good start and
is a recognized power for good.
Guanajuato is another State capital and the chief city of
a rich mining district. But for the strong hand of a hberal
government and a kind Providence, our first missionaries in
that State would have been in martyrs' graves to-day. In
addition to om: two schools for boys and girls and our evan-
gehstic work, we have here a medical plant. Thousands are
brought into friendly relations with our workers and many
40
of them are led to Christ. This good work of Dr. Salmans
reaches throughout the State and from not a few fanatical
points come men, women, and children suffering from all kinds
of diseases to be treated in our hospital. It is well equipped
with modern appliances and above all is under the benign in¬
fluence of the Good Samaritan.
Oaxaca is the State which gave to the country such valuable
men as Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz, Ignacio Mariscal, Matias
Romero, and others—true nation builders. Here is found
the noble Zapotec race, which claims never to have been con¬
quered by the Spaniards, but simply acquiesced in the fact
that the country at large was dominated by Cortes and his
followers. The direct descendant of the last ruling king of
this tribe is a member of our Church. He who would have been
on the throne had not the Conquerors come was a steward in
our Church. His five brothers also joined us. During the
French intervention Maximilian, recognizing him as a chief
in the Zapotec family, invited him to the national capital with
tempting promises, and the declaration that he needed his
assistance to solidify the empire. Prince Perez sent a courteous
refusal, saying, "When I go to Mexico City to see an emperor
it will be one with Mexican blood in his veins." A few years
later, when elected a delegate to a lay Methodist Conference,
he counted it "all joy" to be present. Not only did he dis¬
charge intelligently his duties in that body, but appeared before
the joint Conference to delight and inspire a large audience
with his personal experience in the things of God. Several
Bishops of our Church have visited him in the little town of
Zaachila, but none of them carried more of dignity or kingly
bearing than they found there. Not one of them, as far as
I know, could stand as erect as our brother the prince, at the
age of ninety, or present a more piercing eye. His race is a
noble one and all of them, as well as the Mixtecans, Mazetecans,
and others, we find very accessible, as they plead with us for
gospel privileges. We are already at work in nine out of the
twenty-six counties of the state, but our force ought to be
trebled at once if we expect to meet our opportunities and
responsibilities in the State of Oaxaca. At the State capital
41
we ought to have immediately a new church and two boarding
schools, one under the auspices of the Woman's Foreign Mis¬
sionary Society. There is no part of the republic where a
consecrated investment is more needed and where it would
give larger results. The present proportions of the district
require the Superintendent to travel quarterly 3,170 miles by
rail, 1,391 on horse back, and 45 on foot—the latter a good
part of the way over rough and dangerous roads. Yet his last
year's report to Conference began by speaking of the honor
accorded him, and closed by his crying out: "Not unto us, O
Lord, not unto us, but imto thy name give glory." These
native men when under the influence of Divine Grace have the
mettle of soldier and martyr.
Thus, we have our work established in the most strategic
cities of the republic, with fine and well-located properties in
some centers, while in others such properties are still needed.
We have a fairly well equipped publishing house which ur¬
gently calls for enlargement, and a medical plant that ought
to be endowed.
We have a theological school, three normal schools, several
common and primary schools with nearly 5,000 pupils. With
funds to enlarge premises and to increase the number of teachers,
this enrollment could easily be doubled in twelve months.
One of the most painful duties forced upon us is the turning
away of applicants. Our Sunday school membership is 4,709.
We have 7,127 communicants and 14,391 adherents, giving
us a Methodist family in Mexico of 21,518.
There are 8 married missionaries, 10 Woman's Foreign Mis¬
sionary Society missionaries, and 179 native workers of all
grades. Our native ministry is one of growing intelligence
and devotion—some of them are excellent evangelists.
Our churches, schools, buildings, and homes represent
81,309,850 (silver). Appreciation in values makes this easily
one million and a half. We ought to build 20 new churches
next year to house congregations now poorly provided for,
or subject to the caprice of fanatical landlords. But there is
no Church Extension Society to help us. Let it be said to
the honor of our poor constituency that for all purposes last
42
year we raised on the field, S56,440 (gold), or nearly as much
as the Board of Foreign Missions sent us.
THE DAY OF OPPORTUNITY
The evangelical churches of^the United States lost, in part,
the golden opportunity which conditions in Mexico furnished
in the years immediately following the collapse of the French
intervention. Our own Church failed woefully in this respect.
We did come, but how?
Two or three men were
sent with barely enough
financial backing to
make a feeble start. Had
we been as wise as the
opportunity required,
sending at least twenty
men with adequate re¬
sources, we might easily
have had six Annual
Conferences in Mexico
to-day, instead of six
Conference Districts,
each of which would
have been as strong as
the one we now have.
The events of the past
three years have in a
sense renewed the
opportunity of forty
years ago. We cannot
expect the help that
the Liberal party would have given us in those days, especially
in the matter of securing well-located properties, nor can
we expect the harvest which would have accrued because
of the tremendous revolt from the Roman Cathohc tyranny
due to its excesses and oppressions; but we can and ought
to take advantage of the growing enlightenment and spirit
of inquiry among the people. Never have these conditions
43
PRESIDENT OF THE JUNIOR EPWORTH
LEAGUE AT ACATLAN, MEXICO
been as favorable as now. Moreover, the Roman Catholic
Church is aroused to the situation as it has not been for sixty
years, and may be depended upon to prevent, if at all possible,
the recurring of such favorable conditions as exist at this very
time. Men and means count for more now than they will
later. The masses are now thinking for themselves as never
BISHOP MO CONNELL AND DR. BUTLER RETURNING FROM A
CHURCH DEDICATION
before. Hence we venture to repeat the words written by
one who was an eye witness to many of the events herein re¬
lated, connected as they were with his Superintendency in the
formative period of the Mission, and whose prophetic soul
anticipated many of the more recent events. In closing his
book, "Mexico in Transition," William Butler broke out with
44
this burning appeal, "O, Church of the Living God! here is
the 'open door,' 'great and effectual,' which the divine Master
has set before thee! It is thine to enter. God expects it as
the work which thy hand findeth to do. He sends thee to
open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from
the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission
of their sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified
by faith in Jesus Christ. Living of dying, I appeal to thee
for them. Give them, O give them quickly, thine evangelical
faith and thy saving gospel. Give in adequate measure for
the consummation of the blessed change for the.se millions of
dying men, that Mexico may become a 'delightsome land'
which the Lord of Hosts has promised, where her 'sun shall
no more go down, neither shall her moon withdraw itself, for
the Lord shall be her everlasting light, and the days of her
mourning shall be ended.'
"Then will redeemed Mexico, her sorrows closed, rise to the
greatness of her position on this continent, and, turning to
the Redeemer who. has saved her, and to Him alone, will claim
her right to crown Him with the diadem of Mexico's adoring
love, as 'Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father.' "
SOME GOOD WORKS ON MEXICO
Mexico Today (50 cents). Geo. B. Winton.
Sketches of Mexico ($1.00). J. W. Butler.
William Butler ($1.00). Miss Clementina Butler.
Mexico Coming into Light (35 cents). J. W. Butler.
Life in Mexico ($2.25). Madame Calderon de la Barca.
Coming Mexico ($1.50). Jos. K. Goodrich.
Beyond the Mexican Sierras (.$2.00). D. Wallace.
Conquest of Mexico (2 Vols., 35 cents each). W. H. Prescott.
These books may be purchased through The Editorial De¬
partment Board of Foreign Missions, 150 Fifth Avenue, New
York.
45
972 B985m
3 5556 010 211 977
Oak Grove
3 5556
Library
010 2
Center
977