CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
LAS PALMAS AND ITS PEOPLE.
The southern portion of the state of Vera Cruz, bordering onTehuantepec, exhibits a singular hydrographic system. A number of greatrivers, as the _Rio Blanc_, the _Plaza Vicente_, the _Goazacoalcos_, andthe _Papatoapan_, with many of smaller note, form a complete networkover the country. Most of these rivers have their sources in the_Sierra Madre_, and traversing the plains of the _tierra caliente_,debouch into the Gulf of Mexico.
Every one has heard how profusely the rain falls in tropical countriesduring that period of the year known as the "rainy season." It is theAmerican winter of these southern latitudes, commencing in the month ofJune, and ending in October. At this time the waters of the riversabove mentioned, augmented by torrents of rain falling daily, break overthe boundaries of their channels, and, free as the wild horses upontheir banks, rush impetuously over the surrounding plains.
Almost with the rapidity of a galloping steed, the yellow flood rollsonward, as if impelled by the breath of a demon, carrying terror anddesolation in its track. Woe to the living thing unable to flee beforeits watery phalanx!
The inundations proceeding simultaneously from the different streamssoon become joined to one another; and the waters, now spread over avast tract of country, flow in a more tranquil current. Thus unitedtogether, they form an immense sea, covering the whole extent of thesavannas; upon the tranquil surface of which may be seen the _debris_ oftheir destructive violence, with the carcasses of all sorts of animals.
In the country thus inundated a singular spectacle may at this time bewitnessed: villages completely surrounded by water, as if built uponislands; trees with their trunks submerged, their leafy tops alonevisible; canoes and large _periaguas_, decked with flags and filled withpeople in their holiday suits, trying to outdo each other in speed orelegance of adornment; while groups of young girls, gaily dressed andcrowned with flowers, may be seen seated in the boats, singing to theinspiriting accompaniment of the harp or mandolin.
The situation in which the hacienda of Las Palmas stood had been chosenwith a view to provide against these annual floods. It was upon thenorth side of a plait apparently boundless towards the south, east, andwest. The house stood upon an eminence of no great elevation--a sort ofoutlying spur of a higher ridge that backed it upon the north. It wasisolated, however, and at some distance from the ridge, whose directionwas eastward and westward. The hill upon which the hacienda stood wasone of those singular eminences known in Spanish-America by the name of_mesa_ (table). Its flat top formed an oblong parallelogram, at one endof which stood the dwelling-house, the other being occupied by thestorehouses and stables. These were upon an extensive scale, allenclosed within a wall of strong mason-work. In the same enclosure wererows of chambers for the lodgment of the _peons, vaqueros_, and otherretainers of the establishment.
The dwelling-house, standing upon the southern extremity of the _mesa_,fronted towards the great plain. In its centre a massive double dooropened into the courtyard, or _patio_; and this entrance was reached bya broad causeway, sloping upward with a gentle declivity from the plain,and fenced along each edge by a parapet of strong mason-work. Thussituated, the hacienda of Las Palmas--so named from the numerous topesof palm-trees which mottled the plain in front--not only defied theflood, but might have served as a fortress of no despicable strength.The proprietor of this dwelling, as well as the extensive estatesurrounding it, was Don Mariano de Silva.
The bell of the hacienda had tolled the evening _oration_, and thetinkling of the _angelus_ was sounding the summons to prayer. At thatmoment might be witnessed an interesting spectacle upon the plainadjoining the dwelling of Don Mariano de Silva. The Indian labourers,who never work a moment beyond the prescribed time, at the first soundof the bell had all suddenly stopped as if struck by paralysis. Thepickaxe raised aloft, the spade half buried in the earth, the goadlifted to prick forward the ox, fell simultaneously from their hands;while the oxen themselves, accustomed to imitate their drivers, came atonce to a stand, leaving the plough in the half-finished furrow. The_vaqueros_ galloped straight to their stables and unsaddled theirhorses; the peons came crowding in from the fields; and while the plainwas thus deserted the corral and outhouses became crowded.
In the midst of this crowd women were seen hurrying to and fro, carryinghot plates of _comal, tortillas_, and _chile colorado_, destined for theevening repast.
The sun was yet shining brightly, and his last rays darted their goldenlight through the iron bars and green trelliswork of the windows of thehacienda. One, however, that looked eastward was sheltered from hisbeams; and a traveller coming in that direction might have observed thatthe lattice blind was raised up, and the rich amber-coloured curtainswere visible behind it, although partially drawn. The window was at nogreat height from the ground, in fact on the ground-floor itself; butthe house standing upon the pedestal of the _mesa_ was elevated severalfeet above the level of the plain, and a horseman, however high hishorse, could not have looked into the chamber thus situated.
There was no traveller, however, in sight; no one except some belatedlabourers, who, through the luminous haze of the setting sun, could beseen making their way towards the hacienda.
Any one who could have looked into this chamber would have there behelda scene of more than ordinary interest. Though a mansion in the westernworld, the style and furnishing of the apartment exhibited a certaincharacter of _orientalism_: for Mexico has long held traffic with thecountries of the far East.
At that moment the chamber contained something of more interest thaneven its rich furniture. Three young girls graced it by their presence.Two of them were evidently sisters--judging by the air of familiaritythat existed between them, rather than by any very marked personalresemblance. They were the daughters of Don Mariano, the proprietor ofthe mansion. The third was simply a servant--their waiting-maid.