When the revolution burst out, the Yaquis and other Indian peoples, said
to the revolutionists: "Promise us our lands back, and we will fight
with you." And they are keeping their word, magnificently. All during
the summer they have kept up the warfare. Early in September, the
Chihuahua papers reported a band of 1,000 Yaquis in Sonora about to
attack El Anil; a week later 500 Yaquis had seized the former quarters
of the federal troops at Pitahaya. This week it is reported that federal
troops are dispatched to Ponoitlan, a town in Jalisco, to quell the
Indians who have risen in revolt again because their delusion that the
Maderist government was to restore their land has been dispelled. Like
reports from Sinaloa. In the terrible state of Yucatan, the Mayas are in
active rebellion; the reports say that "the authorities and leading
citizens of various towns have been seized by the malcontents and put in
prison." What is more interesting is, that the peons have seized not
only "the leading citizens," but still more to the purpose have seized
the plantations, parceled them, and are already gathering the crops for
themselves.
Of course, it is not the pure Indians alone who form the peon class of
Mexico. Rather more than double the number of Indians are mixed breeds;
that is, about 8,000,000, leaving less than 3,000,000 of pure white
stock.
The mestiza, or mixed breed population, have followed the communistic
instincts and customs of their Indian forbears; while from the Latin
side of their make-up, they have certain tendencies which work well
together with their Indian hatred of authority.
The mestiza, as well as the Indians, are mostly ignorant in
book-knowledge, only about sixteen per cent. of the whole population of
Mexico being able to read and write. It was not within the program of
the "civilizing" regime to spend money in putting the weapon of learning
in the people's hands. But to conclude that people are necessarily
unintelligent because they are illiterate, is in itself a rather
unintelligent proceeding.
Moreover, a people habituated to the communal customs of an ancient
agricultural life do not need books or papers to tell them that the soil
is the source of wealth, and they must "get back to the land," even if
their intelligence is limited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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