Unknown Mexico, Volume 1

Unknown Mexico, Volume 1

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Title: Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)
Author: Carl Lumholtz
Release Date: August 4, 2005 [EBook #16426]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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UNKNOWN MEXICO, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) ***

Produced by Jeroen Hellingman

Unknown Mexico A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the
Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and
Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan
By
Carl Lumholtz, M.A.
Member of the Society of Sciences of Norway; Associé Étranger de la
Société de l'Anthropologie de Paris; Author of "Among Cannibals,"

Etc.
Volume I

To Morris K. Jesup, M.A., LL.D. President of the American Museum
of Natural History of New York The Patron and Friend of Science This
Work Is Respectfully Dedicated As a Token of Gratitude and Regard

Preface
In the course of my travels in Australia, and especially after my arrival
at Upper Herbert River in Northern Queensland, I soon perceived that it
would be impracticable for me to hunt for zoological specimens
without first securing the assistance of the natives of the country. Thus
it came about that for over a year I spent most of my time in the
company of the cannibalistic blacks of that region, camping and
hunting with them; and during this adventurous period I became so
interested in these primitive people that the study of savage and
barbaric races has since become my life's work.
I first conceived the idea of an expedition to Mexico while on a visit to
London in 1887. I had, of course, as we all have, heard of the
wonderful cliff-dwellings in the Southwest of the United States, of
entire villages built in caverns on steep mountain-sides, accessible in
many cases only with the aid of ladders. Within the territory of the
United States there were, to be sure, no survivors of the race that had
once inhabited those dwellings. But the Spaniards, when first
discovering and conquering that district, are said to have come upon
dwellings then still occupied. Might there not, possibly, be descendants
of the people yet in existence in the northwestern part of Mexico
hitherto so little explored?
I made up my mind, then and there, that I would answer this question
and that I would undertake an expedition into that part of the American
continent. But my ideas were not realised until in 1890 I visited the

United States on a lecturing tour. On broaching the subject of such an
expedition to some representative men and women, I met with a
surprisingly ready response; and interest in an undertaking of that kind
being once aroused, the difficulties and obstacles in its way were soon
overcome.
Most of the money required was raised by private subscription. The
principal part of the fund was, however, furnished by a now deceased
friend of mine, an American gentleman whose name, in deference to
his wishes, I am bound to withhold. The American Museum of Natural
History of New York and the American Geographical Society of New
York contributed, each, $1,000, and it was arranged that I should travel
under the auspices of these two learned institutions. Many scientific
societies received me most cordially.
The Government in Washington readily furnished me with the official
papers I required. The late Mr. James G. Blaine, then Secretary of State,
did everything in his power to pave my way in Mexico, even evincing a
very strong personal interest in my plans.
In the summer of 1890, preparatory to my work, I visited the Zuñi,
Navajo, and Moqui Indians, and then proceeded to the City of Mexico
in order to get the necessary credentials from that Government. I was
received with the utmost courtesy by the President, General Porfirio
Diaz, who gave me an hour's audience at the Palacio Nacional, and also
by several members of his cabinet, whose appreciation of the
importance and the scientific value of my proposition was truly
gratifying. With everything granted that I wanted for the success of my
expedition--free passage for my baggage through the Custom House,
the privilege of a military escort whenever I deemed one desirable, and
numerous letters of introduction to prominent persons in Northern
Mexico who were in a position to further my plans--I hurried back to
the United States to organise the undertaking. My plan was to enter, at
some convenient point in the State of Sonora, Mexico, that great and
mysterious mountain