Senor P——, who dressed like a prince, made himself agreeable and answered our questions freely because he hoped to secure the contract for furnishing slaves for my company.
"You can't help but make money in Valle Nacional," said he. "They all do. Why, after every harvest there's an exodus of planters to Mexico City, where some of them stay for months, spending their money in the most riotous living!"
Senor P—— was kind enough to tell us what became of the fifty pesos he received for each of his slaves. Five pesos, he said went to Rodolpho Pardo, jefe politico of Tuztepec, ten to Felix Diaz for every slave taken out of Mexico City, and ten to the mayor of the city or jefe politico of the district from whence came the other slaves.
"The fact that I am a brother-in-law of Felix Diaz," said Senor P——, "as well as a personal friend of the governors of the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, and of the mayors of the cities of the same name, puts me in a position to supply your wants better than anyone else. I am prepared to furnish you any number of laborers up to forty thousand a year, men, women and children, and my price is fifty pesos each. Children workers last better than adults and I advise you to use them in preference to others. I can furnish you 1,000 children a month under fourteen years of age, and I am prepared to secure their legal adoption as sons and daughters of the company, so that they can be legally kept until they reach the age of twenty-two!"
"But how," I gasped, "is my company going to adopt 12,000 children a year as sons and daughters? Do you mean to tell me that the government would permit such a thing?"
