Henry Howard Harper - A Journey in Southeastern Mexico

The volume here presented to the reader does not profess to be ahistory or description of Mexico as a whole, nor does it claim tobe typical of all sections of the country. It deals simply with anout-of-the-way and little-known region, accompanied by a history ofpersonal experiences, with comment upon conditions almost or quiteunknown to the ordinary traveler.

Many books upon Mexico have been writtena few by competent andothers by incompetent handsin which the writers sometimes chargeeach other with misstatements and inaccuracies, doubtless oftentimeswith reason. However that may be, I have yet to discover among them anarrative, pure and simple, of travel, experiences and observations inthe more obscure parts of that country, divested of long and tedioustopographical descriptions. Narrations which might be of interest,once begun, are soon lost in discussion of religious, political, andeconomic problems, or in singing the praises of "the redoubtableCortez," or the indefatigable somebody else who is remembered chieflyfor the number of people he caused to be killed; or in describing thebeauty of some great valley or hill which the reader perhaps never sawand never will see.

I have always felt that a book should never be printed unless it isdesigned to serve some worthy purpose, and that as soon as the authorhas written enough to convey his message clearly he should stop. Thereare many books in which the essential points could be encompassedwithin half the number of pages allotted to their contents. A goodtwenty-minute sermon is better than a fairly good two-hour sermon;hence I believe in short sermons,and short books.

With this conviction, before placing this manuscript in the handsof the printer I sought to ascertain what possible good might beaccomplished by its issue in printed form. My first thought was toconsult some authority, upon the frankness and trustworthiness ofwhose opinion I could rely with certainty. I therefore placed themanuscript in the hands of my friend Mr. Charles E. Hurd, whoseexcellent scholarship and sound literary judgment, coupled with alifelong experience as an editor and critical reviewer, qualify him asan authority second to none in this country. He has done me the honorvoluntarily to prepare a few introductory lines which are printedherein.

In view of the probability that very few, if any, among the restrictedcircle who read this book will ever traverse the territory described,I am forced to conclude that for the present it can serve no betterpurpose than that of affording such entertainment as may be derivedfrom the mere reading of the narrative. If, however, it shouldby chance fall into the hands of any individual who contemplatestraveling, or investing money, in this district, it might prove to beof a value equal to the entire cost of the issue. Moreover, it mayserve a useful purpose in enlightening and entertaining those who arecontent to leave to others the pleasures of travel as well as theprofits derived from investments in the rural agricultural districts ofMexico.

Possibly a hundred years hence the experiences, observations, andmodes of travel herein noted will be so far outgrown as to make themseem curious to the traveler who may cover the same territory, but Ipredict that even a thousand years from now the conditions there willnot undergo so radical a change that the traveler may not encounter thesame identical customs and the same aggravating pests and discomfortsthat are so prevalent today. Doubtless others have traversed thisterritory with similar motives, and have made practically the samemental observations, but I do not find that anyone has taken the painsto record them either as a note of warning to others, or as a means ofreplenishing a depleted exchequer.

In issuing this book I feel somewhat as I imagine Horace did when hewrote his ode to Pyrrha,which was perhaps not intended for theeye of Pyrrha at all, but was designed merely as a warning to othersagainst her false charms, or against the wiles of any of her sex. Hedeclared he had paid the price of his folly and inexperience, and hadhung up his dripping clothes in the temple as a danger-signal forothers

Ah! wretched those who love, yet ne'er did try
The smiling treachery of thine eye;
But I'm secure, my danger's o'er,
My table shows the clothes I vow'd
When midst the storm, to please the god,
I have hung up, and now am safe on shore.

So am I. Horace, being a confirmed bachelor, probably took his themefrom some early love affair which would serve as a key-note thatwould strike at the heart and experience of almost every reader. Theapparent ease with which one can make money and enjoy trips in Mexicois scarcely less deceptive than were the bewitching smiles of Horace'sPyrrha. Indeed the fortune-seeker there can see chimerical Pyrrhaseverywhere.

Although it has been said that truth is stranger than fiction, itis observable that most of the great writers have won their fame infiction, possibly because they could not find truths enough to filla volume. In setting down the narrative of a journey through Mexico,however, there is no occasion to distort facts in order to makethem appear strange, and often incredible, to the reader. We are sosurfeited with books of fiction that I sometimes feel it is a wholesomediversion to pick up a book containing a few facts, even though theybe stated in plain homespun language. It is fair to assume that inwriting a book the author's chief purpose is to convey a message ofsome sort in language that is understandable. In the following pages Ihave therefore not attempted any flourishes with the English language,but have simply recorded the facts and impressions in a discursiveconversational style, just as I should relate them verbally, or writethem in correspondence to some friend.

H. H. H.

Boston, Mass.,October, 1909.

The present volume in which Mr. Harper tells the story of his personalexperiences and observations in a section of Mexico which is now beingcleverly exploited in the advertising columns of the newspapers asthe great agricultural and fruit-growing region of the North Americancontinent, has a peculiar value, and one that gives it a place apartfrom the ordinary records of travel. The journey described was nopleasure trip. The three who took part in it were young, ambitious, andfull of energy. Each had a fair amount of capital to invest, and each,inspired by the accounts of visitors and the advertisements of landspeculators setting forth the wonderful opportunities for easy moneymaking in agricultural ventures along the eastern coast of Mexico,believed that here was a chance to double it. There was no sentimentin the matter; it was from first to last purely a business venture.The scenery might be enchanting, the climate perfect, and the peoplepossessed of all the social requirements, but while these conditionswould be gratefully accepted, they were regarded by the party asentirely secondarythey were after money. The recorded impressions aretherefore the result of deliberate and thoughtful investigation,notof the superficial sort such as one would acquire on a pleasure-seekingtrip. They differ essentially from the unpractical views of the writerwho is sent into Mexico to prepare a glowing account of the country'sresources from a casual and personally disinterested view of conditions.