Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-03-13
EVENING STAR.
THE LAZY MANS PARApIsf.

THE LAZY MANS PARADISE. A.
In Lieut.. Gibbon'sAccount of his ex.
ploration of the valley Of the Amazon. or
rather OF one Of its main branches, tn,
Madeira river, Executive document No
36l from the Pacific side, we find th,
following account Of the daily life of |,
Creole family in the town of Santa Cruz
the capital of the Bolivian department o
that name. For lazy man, Santa Cru,
de Bolivia must be perfect p radise, t.
say nothing of the chance q bachelor ha.
of being able to choose q partner in /,
city where there are fise women to on,
man: - -. -.- -. ...-- :.
Very early in the morning the Creol,
getting out of bed, throws himself into q
hammock his wife stretches herself upor
a bench near by, while the children seal
themselves with their legs under them
on the chails, all in their night dresses
The Indian servant girl enters with a
cup CT chocolate for each member of the
family; after which she brings some
Goals OF fire in a silver dish. The wife
lights her husband cigar, then one fol
herself. Some time is spent reclining
chatting and regaling. Tie man slowl,
puts on his cotton trowsers, woolen coat
leather shoes, and vicuna hat, with his
neck exposed to the fresh air-siIk hand
keI chiefs are scarce-and walks to some
neighbor's, with whom he again drinks
some chocolate and smokes another ci
gar.
At midday small low table is set il
the middle of the room, and the family
go to breakfast. The wife sits next tc
her husband; the women are very
pretty, and affectionate to their husbands
lie chooses her from among five, there
b0ing about that number of women to
one man in the town. The children sea,
themselves, and the dogs form a ring be.
hind. The first dish is chupe of pota.
Toes, with large pieces of meat. The
man helps himself first, and throws his
bones straight across the table; q child
lodges his head to give it a free passage
and the dogs rush after it as it falls upon
the ground floor. A child then throws
his bone, the mother lodges, and the
dogs rush behind her. The second dish
holds small pieces of beef without bones
Next comes dish of finely-chopped beef
then beef soup, vegetables, and fruits
finally, coffee or chocolate. After break.
fast the man pulls off his trowsers and
coat and lies down in the hammock. His
wife lights him cigar. She finds her
way back to bed with her cigar. The
dogs jump up and lie on the chairs
fleas bite them on the ground! The In.
dian girl closes both doors aud windows
takes the children out to play, while the
rest of the family sleep.
At two p. H., the church bells ring to
let the people know the priest is saying q
prayer for them which rouses them. The
man raises, stretches his hand above his
head and gaps; the dogs get down and
whiningly stretch themselves; while the
wife sets up In the bed and loudly calls
out for fire; The Indian girl re-appears
with "chunk" for her mistress TO ligb,
her master another cigar, and she smiles
again herself. The dinner, which takes
place between three and five, is nearl,
TIE same as breakfast, except when :
beef is recently killed by the Indians,
when they have boil. The ribs and
other lsng bones of the animal are
trimmed of flesh, leaving the bones only
coated with meat /; these are laid acl oSs
fire and roasted; the members of tn
family while employed with them, look
as if all were practising music.
A horse is brought into the house by
an Indian mon whn boIJc H., hi
"the patron saddles and brides him :
he then puts on large pair of silver
spurs, which costs forty dollars, and,
mounting, he rides out Of the front door
to the opposite house; hating, he takes
off his hat and cries out " Buenas tardes,
senoritas, good evening, ladies. The
ladies make their appearance at the door;
one lights him a cigar, another mixes
him glass of lemonade to refresh him.
self after the ride. He remains in the
saddle talking, while they lean grace.
fully agfinst the door post, smiling with
their beyitching eyes. He touches bis
hat and rides off to another neighbOr.
fter spending the afternoon in this way,
he rides into the house again. The In
dian holds the horse by the bride, while
the master diSmounts. Takirg off the
saddle, he throws it into one chair. the
bride into another, his spurs on o third,
and him selfinto the hammock; the Indian
leads out the horse, the dogs pull down
the riding gear to the floor, and lay them.
selves on their usual bedSteads. Choco:
late and cigars are repeated.