Chapter I: Foreword

The term “_gringo_”--a word of vague origin, once applied with contempt to the American in Mexico--is now used throughout Latin America, without its former opprobrium, to describe any foreigner.

The Spanish “_mañana_”--literally “to-morrow”--is extremely popular south of the Rio Grande, where, in phrases suggesting postponement, it enables the inhabitant to solve many of life’s most perplexing problems.

This book covers various random wanderings in Mexico, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. It deals with a romance or two, a revolution or so, and a hodge-podge of personal experience. The incidents of the earlier chapters precede, while those of the later ones follow, the author’s vagabond journeys recorded in “The Adventures of a Tropical Tramp,” and “A Beachcomber in the Orient.”

The chapter on the Yaqui Indians is published with the permission of the editor of “The Open Road.” The photographs of the Guatemalan revolution were taken by Roy Neil Bunstine, of Guatemala City.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I ON THE BORDER 1

II BANDITS! 4

III IN SLEEPY HERMOSILLO 13

IV AMONG THE YAQUI INDIANS 24

V DOWN THE WEST COAST 47

VI THOSE DARK-EYED SEÑORITAS! 70

VII IN THE DAYS OF CARRANZA 93

VIII THE MEXICAN CAPITAL 112

IX INTERMISSION 145

X THE LAND OF THE INDIAN VAMPS 149

XI THOSE CHRONIC INSURRECTIONS! 170

XII UP AND DOWN GUATEMALA 187

XIII IN SUNNY SALVADOR 216

XIV THE REVOLUTION IN HONDURAS 241

XV WHERE MARINES MAKE PRESIDENTS 282

XVI A LONG, LONG WAY TO COSTA RICA 327

XVII ADIOS! 352

ILLUSTRATIONS

A Chieftain Dressed for the Easter Ceremony of the Yaqui Indians _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

In Those Days Trains Did Not Venture to Run at Night Across the Sonora Desert 8

An Escort of Soldiers Occupied a Freight Car Ahead as a Precaution Against Bandits 8

A Burro Train Laden with Bullion from the Mines 16

La Colorada, Once the Home of Gold Mines, Now Served Only as a Depot for Trucks That Crossed the Desert 30

Indian Women, Pounding Clothes upon the Rocks Beside a Shallow Brook, Ceased Their Work to Stare 30

The Christ Was Represented by a Cheap Rag Doll Cradled in a Wicker Basket 42

For Three Days the Indians Neither Ate Nor Slept, Refreshing Themselves Only with Mescal 42

The Mexican Señorita Has Always Been Portrayed in Our Fiction as a Wild Vampire 80

In the Days of Carranza One Frequently Saw a Bandit Hanging Around the Railway 60

Pedro Zamorra Had Removed a Few Ties Where the Train Came Around a Bend 100

So Worthless Were the Federal Troops That Many Americans Professed a Preference for Bandits 100

The Orange Trees in Guadalajara’s Plaza Were Golden Throughout the Year 114

Mexico City, One of the Most Ornate Capitals in the Western Hemisphere, Somewhat Resembled Paris 114

The Mexican Pyramids Probably Antedate Those of Egypt by a Thousand Years or More 130

In the Gardens of Xochimilco, Relics of an Aztec Paradise, Only the Cabbages Were in Bloom 130

Mexican Policemen in White Spats 142

No Latin-American Village Is So Tiny But That It Has a Square Devoted to Bartering 172

The Mexican Peon So Loves the Excitement of the Market That He Refuses to Sell His Goods Elsewhere 172

The Tehuana Maidens Regarded a Man as a Luxury Rather Than a Necessity 156

The Abundant Central-American Volcanoes Fertilize the Coffee Fincas with Lava Dust 222

Guatemala’s Population Includes a Million Pure-blooded Aborigines 190

Occasionally the Resultant Earthquakes Knock Down a City or Destroy the Guatemalan Cathedral 222

When Orellana Started a Revolution, President Herrera Made No Strenuous Objection 206

The Only Casualties Were a Few Policemen Who Mistook the Revolution for a Disorderly Demonstration 206

A Banana-Boat Loading on the East Coast 286

In These Pleasant Tropical Countries No Peon Girl Escapes Maternity 236

From His Palace the President Could Watch the Treasury to See That No One Stole the National Debt 254

Soldiers Stopped a Pedestrian at Every Corner to Search for Weapons 266

The Warship _Rochester_ Had Anchored at Amapala on What Was Described as a Courtesy Visit 254

The American Intervention Had Brought Peace, but Managua’s Dusty Streets Suggested no Prosperity 306

If the American Marines Were Withdrawn from Nicaragua a Revolution Would Transpire Over-Night 306

For Three Days the Boatmen Poled the Launch Through Shallows Framed in Rank Green Jungle 330

Greytown Was a Typical East Coast Port--Low, Swampy and Unattractive--With Black Complexions Prevailing 330

San José Contains the Most Delightful Plazas and the Most Beautiful Women in the World 354

A Machine-Gun Tower Built by the Tyrant Tinoco 344

In Its Interior Decoration the Costa Rican National Theater Equals Any Theater in the United States 354

A GRINGO IN MAÑANA-LAND

A GRINGO

IN MAÑANA-LAND