American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-07-17
WASHINGTON: THURSDAY AFTERNOON, July T7 1851
For the American Telegraph. A.
NOTES ON NEW MEXICO-No. u
ny HENRY HARDY.

rUr tne American Telegraph 40 'l.t'-A
NOTES ON NEW MExICO--No. 14.ao ~
BY HENRY HARDY. -I4tAp
4" /. Continued from the Washington News.D Iiaa
~ 1t would be an omission in me, were to let
slip some account of what constitutes large,
item ino New Mexican life and affairs / refer
to the dayIe,9 or what amongst americans goes
oftener by the name of jandaago. The word bdyle
properly means a. ball, or dancing occasion;
whilst tandaago is the name for particular
dance. But with Americans the saying is, ssLet
'ustgo tosthe fandahgo to night" ~ 9.T2h $50 Il
soi i went to the fandango one night, and only
one 10 It was after this wise. The day after L
arrived IN Santa Fe,I received by circular an
invitation to meet the friends Of Hon.. Hugh M
Smith, Delegate to Congress from New Mexico,
that evening at public dinner to be given him
in acknowledgment Of the fidelity and deyotion
that had marked the discharge of his public
duties to the Territory. | did not feel a. great
deal like being ut the dinner, principally be-,
cause my exterior man had not been calculated
for the meridian of any thing much grander
than the wild plains; and further, was half
afraid that, coming as had done in a public
capacity, something like speech might be ex-
pected from me. | signifed my indisposition
to 60 to Governor Monroe, who had been so
kind as to press me to make my home with him,
me, and urged me by all means to accept. Well,
when the hour came 'sscrewed my courage to
the sticking point and put myself right into the
direction OF the Exchange the place where the
gala was to come off. After some preliminary
/" hanging round, F" the invited guests obeyed the
signal to fall to and very respectable rattling
Of knives and forks, despoilment Of covers and
dishes, filing and emptying of glasses, hobnob-
,bihg and toast-drinking, thereuponl ensued For
Santa Fe, the yiands served up, in respectto guam
tity, choice, and quality, were certainly not un-
worthy of favorable remark. The only felt def
ciehcies were in the vegetable and fruit depart.
Lments-more particularly the former than the
of such fruits as would admit of being
conserved or preserved there was not an made
quate supply. Well, as said, We ate and we
drank, and then came the proper business of
the evening The gentleman in the chair1in-
troduced IN appropriate terms the Hon. Mr..
Smith to the company! OF course his health
was drunk, with congratulations superadded Oh
his safe return to his gratifed constituency
But had almost forgotten to say--what, per
haps, rnodesty ought to enforce me to omit
that, utterly unexpected by me, my humbl,
name was connected with Mr.. Smiths in tn,
toast; for if Mr.. Smith had gone! to Washing
ton to procure q territorial government for New
Mexico, Il had been 80 fortunate as first to con
isNcy W ~ tHc dSTctdDiC ucWo VI lUS uCqulSlCOn
| As well as the mist of the occasion will perm
me to remember, Mr.. Smith waived the honor
Of first replying, and threw the onus right upor
my shoulders. What I said, in consequence
had at least one merit; that of decided brevity
Mr.. Smith might or might not have taken the
hint from me, for his speech was not a great
deal longer than my own and think fifteen
| minutes would have included both addresses,
with handsome margin all round. g.G
i When took my seat at the table did it
with due humility, keeping unambitiously dis
tant from the chair. But my modesty was not
allowed to g blush unseen" in that retirement
The chair pointedly invited me to seat on his
immediate left, his right being occupied by Mr..
Smith. The reader will now perceive was
fairly in for it. The campaign had commenced,
champagne few around, 'sdead men" after
g dead men" were removed, and fresh leyies
supplied to the demolished ranks. went into
the dinner with a sort Of ground-swell of
purpose not to touch any of that bottlcd-up
headache, with lying labels on it, telling of
Moat or Chandon, but really the growth, of
New Jersey orchards; and under this resolution
/ kept for a time to Sherry, but having got to
the head Of the table, and following others ex-
amples, tasted glass Of the interdicted stuff,
then another, and q third, until i dropped into
! the general practice We toasted everybody
and every thing toastabe that could well be
thought of; Mr. Smith being toasted so again
and again, that one should opine he must have
felt toasted very 6ropH indeed.
Eleven o'clock came, and with il some signs
of uproariousness here and there apparent
amongst the banquetters which induced the
lovers of. propriety to thin out and become
"scarce." couple of friends taking me in
charge, arm-in-armed me to a fandango, then
about budding into full feather; fandango
designed rather think, with special reference
to the great event of the evening. rs. .a
Entering covered way from the street, we
got into corral, from one of the doors of which
issued a flood of light and conglomeration of
jovial sounds, in which a sort Of nonchatanf
heels-over-head instrumental concert was driv-
ing on in its own way. Twas pleasant jingle
on the whole, unheeding, soothing, and dor
mferous. We sailed in, and encountered an
oblong room of about twenty-five feet one way
and twelve the other, lined along the walls with
a raised seat of about foot wide, very soft to
sit upon, as it was composed, for some depth
ut least, Of narrow. mattresses, folded blankets,
and bed-clothes On the wall opposite 10 the
door by which we entered sat several Sen0rds
and senoritas, equipped for the ball Some of
these were quite good-looking (save the snub
noses,) and though plainly were most richly
and tastefully attired. At the south end Of the
room door opened into a smaller apartment,
wherein cakes, fruits, and villanous liquors
were for sale. Very soon after our entrance
and settlement on the mems banquette the
ladies and gentlemen commenced the dance.
The modus operdndi is thus; Each partner places
the right arm far. around the others waist, and
the left higher up the back, and commences
whirling movement like waltz the gentle
man being the whirler, for the most part, and
the lady the ohirtee. Perhaps half dozen or
more Of these couples occupied the floor at
once. Very little time sufficed to prove to me
the exceedingly licentious tendency of these
dances, and the all but impossibiity of any who
engage, in them, men or women, to maintain
their virtue. soon learned from these proceed
ings, and the consideration of the fact that they