Accidents at the mines—Mexico City—Peculiar laws—"Evidence"—A theft of straw.

Mexicans, like the natives of India, have a great dread of hospitals. During our first year’s work one of the men got his finger caught in the roller and had the end joint cut off. As I was writing a note to the doctor the police came up and insisted on taking the man to the police station, whence he was taken to the hospital. Three months later I saw him when he had just come out, and he had lost the use of the entire hand through blood-poisoning. They tell me that the young students of the medical college do most of the operating on the poor, and, if this was a sample, I am not surprised at the prevalent dread of the hospitals.

As I said when writing about Texas, Mexicans are most careless and take desperate chances, generally through ignorance. One day two gangs of men that I had moving some heavy rock crusher parts began racing with the flywheels (weighing 1200 kilos each) which they were wheeling along on the rims. I 244warned them, but the words were hardly out of my mouth when one of the wheels toppled over on the foot of one of the men. He did not complain much beyond some grimaces, and when we lifted the wheel he staggered off, limping. I thought that the soft earth had saved his foot, but the doctor later pronounced some bones broken. One year we were piling up some crushed rock near where our electric power wires entered the motor-house; these wires carried 2000 volts. I had noticed the men on top of the rock pile touching these wires (the rock being absolutely dry and the insulation on the wires fairly good, they received no shock), and warned them that they would get a shock some day that would kill some one. I found that they paid no attention, so I had a board stuck up warning them of their danger, and stating that the company would not be responsible for any accidents. The next day or so the government inspector, the general manager, and myself were down at the yard on inspection. We heard a yell, and there was a man hung on the wire, kicking like a galvanised frog. Another Mexican, with more presence of mind than the average, ran up with a stick, knocked the wire loose, and the man fell down as if dead. We telephoned for a doctor, and meanwhile tried artificial respiration. The doctor soon arrived, 245and within an hour or so the man was all right but for a very badly burned arm and hand. There had been slight rain which had wetted both the insulation and the rock pile under their feet, thus forming a ground circuit.

Mexicans are very good to their poor, but seem to have very little sympathy for any one hurt in an accident. They are much like children in many ways and can only see the funny side of a serious matter. There was a fire in Mexico City in a lumber company’s yard, and two fire companies were attacking it from the roofs of houses on different sides. In moving a hose one of the firemen accidentally directed it on the firemen across the way. They immediately retaliated, and for the next few minutes the fire was entirely forgotten by the two companies, who were busy pumping on each other amidst much laughter. Finally, one of the men, in trying to reach a vantage point, slipped and fell into the burning yard, at which a perfect howl of laughter went up from all the spectators. He was luckily rescued with only a few bruises, and a trifle singed, but the moral remains the same. In Guadalajara fire protection is a farce. The fire-engine consists of a tank on wheels with a pump attached, which is worked by hand and throws a one-inch stream. Luckily, the city is practically fire-proof, 246being almost entirely built out of adobe (su............