H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND'S CRUISE.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14822, 13 November 1913, Page 3

H.M.S. NEW ZEALAND'S CRUISE.

EXCITEMENT. OF A MEXICAN VISIT.

IMPRESSIONS OF AN OFFICER, (SPXCIA-L- WRITTEN FOR ,C TB_ press. ♦) H.M.S. New Zealand at Sea. August 23. We have finished our visit to Mexico, and though appallingly hot it was really very' interesting. Tho first place we went to was Mazattan," where wo arrived a week after leaving Ksquimalt. It is not a largo place, though I believe the biggest on the coast. It boasts a fino cathedral, an esplanade where the youth and beauty exhibit themselves in the cool of the evening, and a plaza or square planted with trees, and equipped with a bandstand. The remainder of the town is rather uninteresting—narrow winding streets, with the gutter running down the middle, low whitewashed houses, and 6warms of nude infants, dogs, pigs and fowls wandering about at random. The Mexican gunboat Tampico had just arrived from Guaymas, further up the coast, where a good deal of fighting had been going on. They had apparently been leading a somewhat harried existence of late, one of tho rebel aeroplanes having been amusing itself by trying to drop bombs on to the ship without, however, achieving any success. Thero was little or no fighting round Mazattan, but it w_e considered unsafe to venture outside the precincts of the town on account of bandits.

Tho Mexicans in ' appearance are just what ono expected to see, and quite in accordance with the best traditions of moving picture shows. You cannot help feeling that you really aro seeing life when every man you meet is wearing a vast, wide-brimmed hat. comic trousers, gigantic spurs, and decorated with festoons of cartridge* belts. We wero hospitably entertained by the military officers and those of tho Tampico. From Mazattan wo went to Acapulco, a distance which took us two days to cover. Acapulco lias a fine land-locked harbour—the best on tho west coast, in fact. It rose to fame, of course, in the days of the Spanish galleons some three hundred years ago. Thero is very little of the old town left, as it has been destroyed from timo to timo by earthquakes. There is, however, a mediaeval-look-ing fort with a moat which dates back to about 1600.

A great many of us -seized the opportunity of buying a few curios in the shape of Mexican spurs and harness inlaid with, silver, and also some pottory. They were selling quaintlooking red porous pots, which are very useful for keeping water cool in this hot weather. The ship was open to visitors one afternoon, but very few turned up. They have a sensible habit in this country of sleeping during the day, and don't come oiit much before the evening. Wo spent two days at Acapulco, and then sailed for Salina Cruz, where we arrived 'twenty-four hours later. It seems to be a much busier seaport, having, an outer harbour protected by two breakwaters, and an inner harbour with good wharfage accommodation. There were warehouses, travelling cranes, and the railway came righton to-the wharf. The town consists of stray houses, mostly built of mud, the streets being merely tho gaps of sandy waste in between.

We got in on Saturday morning, and that night the British community ashore gave us an excellent smoking concert. There are, of course, very few Englishmen living in Salina"«Cruz, but they came down by rail from various parts of the country to welcome us. On Sunday they organised a trip for us to Tehuantepec, about twelve miles up country. _ This is one of the largest, and most interesting native cities in Mexico, so we were all very glad to have a chance of seeing it. They gave us a special train to go up in, and the journey took about threequarters of an hour. Wo were met on our arrival by an official of some sort—l was not very clear as to what ho was exactly— and were conducted through an admiring crowd to the local Town Hall. Thero we wpro regaled with many fine glasses of ale. while four Aztec damsels, arrayed in all tho glory of their native costume, were produced for our inspection. They wore (this for the benefit of lady readers) a species of gaudy tunic of green velvet, embroidered with gold, tho arms and throat being bare, but sumptuously upholstered , with gold bangles and necklaces. Beneath that was a common or garden skirt made of stuff that resemhled chintz.curtains. After that wo fared forth to see the town. We.had a look at the Cathedral, which is very old, and .must once have been very fine, hut it appears to have had bad luck with the earthquakes., Then wo went on.to the local "cafcel" or prison. It consisted mostly of, buildings round a courtyard.. The prisoners, be they murderers.or petty larceny experts, are all herded together, with tho exception of condemned peonle who are awaiting execution. They don't have to do any work —most seem to fill in their enforced leisure making basketwork to sell, and from the proceeds they can buy food, the prison ration being apparently not. over and above dainty. We gazed at the prisoners for some moments —they 6eemed to be pretty cheerful about it all—and then wa were taken to view one of the condemned people. Ho was a rebel who had been caught some time before, .and was waiting to" be executed. He was taking his, airing at the time, in the court • whero the executions took place. Yon could see the place where those about to be shot aro requested to stand. The wall behind was simply riddled with bullets. The prisoner himself was chatting airily with the guards, and appeared to be quite unconcerned. Lifo is cheap in Mexico. After the prison: we wandered through the town until it was time to go. Some people bought Mexican hatas curios, but they were rather expensive luxuries, costing aoout 20 dollars (£2). Our train was due to leave at ..30 that evening, but we were by no means through with onr adventures. Owing to tho unsettled state of the country the trains generally carry a guard "of soldiers. They told mc that that very train was fired on from the ■woods only a few days ago. However, I had a comforting sense of protection, as the gentleman sitting next to mc was armed with an immense revolver. When we were about halt way through, the night was made hideous with screams and confused noises irom without. When our blood was well curdled we got out to make enquiries, and -were at, first told that it was on y a" murder. It transpired eventually that a somewhat inebriated f e F" tleJ P had suddenly grown weary of the sign' of his wife, and decided to get rid of that vexing spectacle by the simple process of ejecting her through the window. Tlie lady aoparently did not care for the arrangement at all, pulled the communication cord, stopped the train, and asked tho guard' 6 advice on the subject. The guard, not wishing to interfere between man and wife, ejected them both, wberenpon the inebriated one retired to a neighbouring heap of stones and opened a brisk fire "on the guard. The latter now became infuriated, and, calling for assistance, lashed out, seized the man by the feet and dragged him into the train under arrest. Then the wife chipped in and demanded the release of her erring spouse.

The net result was that a local magistrate who happened-tp be on the train, stepped forward and ordered the

man to bo taken on to Salina Cruz and | there flung into a dungeon. Then wo went on, the lady being left weeping by the wayside. She certainly was having very bad luck that day. We got about another mile further on and then came another stop. The train officials got out and had a long consultation, and thero was a very brisk consumption of cigarettes. This time we gathered that the engine-driver had como to the conclusion that his engino was not strong enough to take us back. Afte# some chat' a resolution was carried neni con in favour of going on with half the train. After the en-gine-driver had been refreshed at Salina Cruz he was to come back for the other half. We didn't gather all' this —our Spanish being rather weak— until the front half had shoved off.* I need scarcely mention we were in the wrong half.'However, we picnicked by the wayside, and made merry until the engine returned. We finally arrived in Salina Cruz about 10.30 that night. Altogether it was a most enjoyable and adventurous day.

We sailed eavly the next morning for Panama.