Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1866-04-03
Correspondence Of the N. o. Cresesnt.l
THE CITY OF MATAMORO
DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH.
MArAmosos, MEXICO, February 2iss, 1865.

mATAhosos, MEXICO, bspruaTy SAss, Aooo.
while away an idle hour in mention
ing some points of difference between this
Mexican town and towns or cities of SINH
lar size in the United States, which may
interest some Of your readers.
In the first place, Matamoros il so thor
oughly brick, and the houses 30 fiat and
low, that neither earthquakes nor seiges
can do it any damage, to speak of.
The scarcity and value Of lumber is
everywhere apparent. With few excep-
tons, the houses are hoored with brick. !
have not seen a plank ground floor yet.
Fences, in many places, are made Of barrel
slaves and broken up packing boxes. Many
of the peon shanties are built of the same
material, daubed over with mud.
The quantity of empty bottles is per-
feetly marvellous. Every other back yard
seems to have wagon load, more or less,
piled up or lying around loose. In Rome
places are neat-looking patches of pave
ment, made of stone Scotch ale bottles,
stuck down closely, bottom up.
None of the houses In the city are num-
bered; but every place of business has
little corporation sign over the door, stating
the kind of business and number of the
license. With these little signs most are
content. The larger groceries have fancy
hhmeBt hko conoe-nouses III ameTlchu
cities.
The streets are lot paved, (savs the mar
row sidewalks), and the frequent sweeping
and scraping up of the dust and mud has
worn many of them into troughs or hol-
lows, 80 that in some places 1t ia difficult
for vehicles to pass each other.
The police are gay-looking set, with
their broad bats, ribbon badges, and belts
and revolvers. Every half hour during
the night they blow whistles, and call the
hour in monotonous Spanish.
The city is alive with rats, and eaten up
with feas. The number of rats is alto
gether astonishing; at night the yards and
streets literally swarm with them.
Steep roofs and chimneys are nowhere
to be seen. There are no fre-places but in
the kitchen; and during the cold spells,
those who need it warm their rooms with
charcoal or Goals from the kitchen fire, put
in the center of the brick floor
Ladies' are seldom seen on the streets,
except when going to church. But passing
their residences, you may look inside
through the iron grating or cages covering
the open windows, and see them ut home,
and what they are doing, as much as you
wish. None but foreign ladies wear hats
or bonnets. The Mexican feminines in
Though o quiet town in other respects,
Matamoros, unsteady considered, is rather
noisy. Between the cathedral bells, Mexi-
can trumpets, Austrian bugles, jackdaws,
jackasses, and organ grinders, the air is
mellihuously laden at all hours of the day.
Chickens are very abundant, and the day
light growing of the ROSTERS is chorus
such as, of It's kind, never heard else
where.
The Mexican troops are reviewed every
Sunday morning on the Plaza, in front Of
the cathedral. The uniform is dark blue
faced with red, and caps covered with
hayelocks. 1t is pretty sight, at one
stage of the ceremonies, to see the whole
four or five regiments throw their caps on
the grass, order arms and drop on one
knee with the head bowed and to remain so
whilst sort of military mass is performed
on the steps of the cathedral.
Each Mexican regiment has band con-
sisting of about dozen brass drums and
| fifteen or twenty horns, no other instru-
ments being used. The music is deafening
close by, but sounds well ut distance.
When all the bands let loose at the break
ing up of review the clamor and discord
is perfectly terrific. | may mention that
the Mexican infantry go through all their
drill by bugle call.
Matamoros, like Brownsville, gets its
water from the Rio Grande, rolled up in
barrels by poems. A few opulent persons
have cisterns, in which they catch rain
| when it comes.
The streets at night are lighted by pc
troleum lamps, supported on iron arms
projecting from the buildingQ Many parts
Of New Orleans, lighted by gas, are not
near as well-lighted as these axeets are by
petroleum oil.
The drinking saloons and other loafng
resorts are closed at half-past nine o'clock
each night. At ten o'clock, few other
persons than the police are to be met on
the streets.