THE

HENEQUEN PLANT.

HE peninsula of Yucatan forms part of the Mexican confederation. For many years it has been a point of attraction for students of American archæology, as hundreds of ruined cities and villages are scattered throughout the dense forests that cover the greater portion of the land. Notwithstanding the interest manifested concerning the crumbling palaces and temples of races long gone by, few have visited them, yet they are of comparatively easy access.

After a pleasant sea-voyage along the shores of North America, with land most of the time in sight, we remain at anchor twenty-four hours in the beautiful bay of Havana, under the shadow of the old Moro Castle, and early in the morning on the eighth day from New York we are at Progreso, the sea-port of Yucatan.

Seen from the steamer's deck, Yucatan appears a level plain, covered with verdure and low trees, above which here and there shoot up in clusters the graceful heads of the palm and cocoa-nut trees. Not a hill, not a hillock even, to break the monotony of the view, the land rising only a few feet above the sea.

The road to Merida, the capital, is almost lined on either side by henequen plantations. Henequen is the principal article of growth and export in Yucatan, and the

exportation is steadily increasing. In the year ending June 30, 1881, it amounted to $2,240,000, the succeeding year to nearly a million more. It is the Sisal-hemp (Agave sisalensis), an overgrown succulent plant, indigenous in Yucatan. It requires little care, grows well in stony places, aud needs no water. That part of Yucatan inhabited by white people is very stony, and there is not a river in the peninsula. The planters depend on rain to irrigate their fields.

The agave is propagated from shoots. Three years after it is planted, the first leaves are cut; the same plant produces for twelve or fifteen years. Young plants sprout from the roots of the old, and are transplanted at the end of one year. A full-sized leaf is four or five feet long.

The new railway terminus at Merida is in the Plaza de la Mejorada, in the northeastern part of the city. The engine puffs and whistles just under the windows of the old convent that now serves as the hospital for the sick and in

sane.

Various vehicles are at the station waiting for a fare; first and foremost the calesa. This is an old-fashioned chaise that seats two, the driver riding the horse. The calesa, being gorgeously painted and gilded, has always a white linen cover to protect it from sun, rain, and dust; this cover is only removed two or three times a year, on the occasion of some great festival.

There is no hotel in Merida, and travellers would find no place of refuge but for some generous friend who opens his doors. Happily the people of Merida, and all Yucatan, with very few exceptions, are extremely hospitable, and a letter of introduction is never neglected.

Merida was founded on the site of the ancient city of Tihoó in 1542, by D. Francisco de Montejo, Lieutenant-Governor and Captain - General, son of the Adelantado (Governor) and Chief Justice of the provinces of Yucatan and Cozumel, D. Francisco de Montejo. The Spaniards destroyed artificial mounds that were on the spot, to build the city. The first house erected by Montejo is on the south side of the Plaza de la Independencia (Independence Square), also called Plaza Mayor. The

costumes worn by the natives. meat, all articles are sold on the ground, spread on clean cloths, plantain leaves, or in baskets. The venders squat, sometimes sit on very low stools. To go marketing one must understand the mysteries of medios, cuartillos, chicas, and veintes. Twenty lead veintes make a medio (6 cents). Even cacao nibs are current coin, as with the primitive inhabitants. In one part of the market only cooked food is sold. A stick driven into the ground, with two more that cross each other on the top, support a matting. Beneath this those who wish to take a medio meal squat round the vender, and are served their share in jicaras (half shell of a large round fruit that grows on a tree; the fruit

There is but one theatre; it holds about fifteen hundred people conveniently. Strolling troupes occasionally give a series of performances, even Shakespeare's plays and first-class operas.

The society of Merida is very agreeable, good manners prevail even among the poorest and least educated. The ladies are particularly kind and amiable, and some are admirable musicians. Others make sweetmeats in the form of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, so perfect that only the taste will convince one that they are

The mestiza women are renowned for their beauty, with good reason. They yet retain their national costume, that recalls to mind the "white linen garment" described by Herodotus, "that required no fastening," used by the Ionian women. This is likewise of white linen, the under part a full skirt, called pic, that just escapes the ground; the upper, called uipil, falls over it to the knees. It is made of a single piece, "requires no fastening," and is cut square at the neck. Nothing can be prettier than a mestiza in holiday attire, her pic and uipil edged with colored embroidery and Yucatecan lace, her feet incased in satin slippers, while around her neck is a gold rosary, from which depend coins of the same metal and ribbons of various hues. Her bearing is haughty, though modest, and her charms are enhanced if she carries a basket of flowers gracefully poised on her finger-tips, the hand raised to her head that the basket may serve as a sunshade. They often wear a white lace veil, replaced, when they dance, by a hat with flowers and ribbons. Their hair is fastened in a knot, called thuch, at the back of the neck. They are fond of baubles, and they wear large ear ornaments and many finger rings.

Merida is specially merry at Carnival time. Three days in the latter part of February are completely given up to fun, and work is abandoned. Cards are sent a few days in advance to invite all respectable people who consider themselves white (though a large majority have more or less Indian blood) to attend balls given by the Merida clubs. Poverty is not considered a reason to leave people uninvited -among those asked some are hard press ed to obtain a dress for the occasion; but respectability is a sine qua non, even for maskers.

There is a strange custom common to all Spanish countries. Ladies have chairs brought from their homes, and sit in the street looking into the room that they have been invited to enter. Some of the family are dancing in the ball-room, whilst others are peeping through the windows to catch a glimpse of the dancers. Even the wealthy do this.

Almost every one who visits Yucatan inquires for the ruined cities; that of Uxmal being the most spoken of, and of easiest access-fifty-two miles from Merida

happily, because it seems as if each visitor believes it a duty to carry away some memorial from the old city, thus often destroying some precious link in the history of its ancient inhabitants.

Although several railways are projected and some being constructed, people wishing to go to Uxmal must hire a volan coche. This is a conveyance peculiar to the country, a kind of palanquin, supported on leather straps; the covering is like that of emigrants' carts. A mattress is spread in the bottom to sit or lie on. It accommodates six persons squatting, or two at full length, which is the way generally preferred by the inhabitants. volan is very suitable for the roads of Yucatan, that, with few exceptions, are like a stormy sea petrified. Three mules and a driver make this conveyance go at good speed.

The

Leaving Merida at daybreak affords good opportunity for seeing picturesque groups of Indians on their way to market. All are loaded with eatables, sacks of charcoal, water jars, etc. When the load is light, they suspend it from their chest by a strap; when heavy, the strap is put across the forehead. Some look like walking bushes, as they go half buried under a load of ramon. (The ramon-tree serves as fodder for horses.) These and the charcoal-carriers have often walked a long way and are tired before dawn, yet may perhaps tread the streets till dusk without finding a purchaser for their goods. Even children of six or seven years old carry burdens. Only when their load prevents them from raising the head do they fail to salute the white man who passes them.

Abala, a village on the way to Uxmal, is twenty-four miles from the capital. It has five hundred inhabitants, nearly all poor field laborers. The central square is overgrown with weeds, and everything has a neglected appearance, but it is just the place for a study of the Indians as they are at home.

The huts are oblong, and rounded at the corners. Some are divided in two by a partition. More generally the whole family crowd together in the single apartment. The wall is formed by putting sticks upright in the ground and filling the interstices with mud, or else with a mixture that is afterward smoothed and whitewashed. The roofs are slanting and thatched, the thatch being allowed to

fall to within two or three feet of the ground, to keep off wind and rain. The surface of the earth serves as flooring, since the inmates can seldom afford to have it cemented. The furniture consists of a few hammocks hung across the room-they serve as seats by day and beds by night-some low chairs, called butaca (similar in shape to some of the seats used by the Assyrians and Egyptians of old), a wood

en bench on which are the grinding-stones, and an image of a saint in some corner of the room. The fire-place-three stones placed in triangle on the floor-is there too. Chickens, dogs, pigs, and babies all frolic together in these poor homes, and appear to be tolerably happy, if not very well fed.

While every corner of the hut is crammed with rubbish, its mistress sometimes sits in the hammock swinging, as untidy as her house, making artificial

flowers to adorn some wooden image of the Virgin.

Deer abound in the neighborhood of Abala. In hunting them several men place themselves so as to form an extended circle, within shooting distance of each other. A few go within the circle and make as many discordant sounds as they can summon to their lips, so as to frighten all living things under the brush. tled, the game seeks safety in flight. Then the men near whom the game happens to

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