Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1871-01-26
N. O. WALLACE,
A Mexican Fandango

aiH uesCTlDtS mexican "taD-
dango." A iandango means dance
IN Mexican, and it is purely Span.
ish IN every sense of the word.
The Huerfano is Mexican village
about two miles from the Arkan.
sas river, twenty miles from Pue.
Iblo, and one hundred and twenty.
i've miles from Denver City. The
Hueriano | take more particular
", as II is in close proximity TO a
United States fort, known as Fort
Reynolds, and consequently l
write this sketch under the above
title, 1t being one of the few trans
actions and sports upon the plain~.
A fandango is easily gotten up, as
follows The Huerfano is run
by Marena, Joseph, Tom, and old
Bill Autobey, all Indian scouts for
the United States Government
Bill is the father OF tie tLree first
nemed. Tie huys up a couple OF
gallons of whisky and two pounds
OF candy and couple of pounds
of candles. He then invites old
and young living in his village.
and sends d spatches up TO the
Plaza and St. Charles, two more
Mexican villages, and comes up to
the fort and says, Boys, fan
dango tonight" The boys apply
for pass, and generally get one
from retreat of to day until re
veille of to morrow. You 60 down
to the HreIfano and enter a dirty
looking and dilapidated hall, made
OF adobes, and lighted up with
eight candles, a bar in one end
and the fiddler in tie other; two
rows Of benches on each side of
the ball, on one side filled with
Mexican Indies, and on the other
with citizens and United States
soldiers.
The fiddler strikes up, the men
go over to the girls and ask them
to dance. They never speak, but
nod their heads signify ing Yes"
or "No,' but generally "Yes."
Then the dance commences. the
soldiers generally preferring TO
dance quadrilles, wa!lzes, polkas,
aud schnttisches, because they
know them the best, while the
MeXicans prefer their own native
dances, such as the coonda, men
dita, and 81 w waltz. After you
get through the dance the woman
leaves you very abruptly, You fol
low for your hat. she for her shawl.
She hands you her shawl, turns
her back to you, and you adjust
the shawl upon her shoulders and
then she sits down. You then
rusu up to the bar, call for one
glass of whisky, one glass of wa.
ter, and some candy. The whis,
ky costs yeu twenty-five cents and
the candy (thrce small sticks)
twenty-five cents the water moth
ing. The a:ticles are placed upon
a salver, and you 60 to the lady
and tell her TO help herself. She
generally takes the candy, and
you driHk the whisky. The fan
dango is kept in this way all the
evening. until it breaks up in
row, which it generally does be-
fore twelve or one o'clock. The
row is sometimes among the "boys
in blue" but more generally among
the Mexicans.
The Mexicaus are very cute.
They never spend money for dan
cling, but rather too freely indulge
among themselves Uncle Sans
boys pay the whole bill for fandan.
go. | have known a Mexican
woman to fill bor pockets with
candy, given her by her soldier ad
mirers and other women, and then
go aroand by the back door and
hard it to the proprietor to resell.
There is much fun to see at these
iandangos in the fore part of the
evening The women are gayly
dressed, and consider themselves
"some pumpkins" They think a
great deal Of The Soldiers" but
their own men they don't seem to
Hike much. aud no wonder, for they
are the dlftiest and meanest look
ing set of vagabonds. They are
always in debt, and too lazy to
get in their crops half the time.
The fandango is great institu-
tion, and, as said before, il gener-
ally breaks up in a row. Some
MeXicans getting knocked over,
knives are drawn, women scream
and rush out OF the window, pis.
tolls are fired, and the "boys in
blue" leave for camp.
One Of the victims of the New
NJ