Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1873-07-05

thousand five hundreds, with the ex.
ception of a few American families
almost purely Mexican. The houses are
nearly ali One-story high, all of adobe
blocks cut from the moistened soil,
mixed with straw and sun-dried). They
present a naked wall, the doors reaching
to the ground. There are few or no
windows, the light being admitted
through a skylight. The dwellings are
usually in the shape of a parallelogram-
the main entrance opening upon an
| interior square, around which is a gal
| lery, upon which the rooms of the house
open. In this square Is generally well
and few plants. The roofs are of earth.
The Mexicans pay but little attention to
the interior of their houses. They sim
ply smear the soft mud on the walls and
floor, and it becomes as hard as Roman
cement. The Americans finish their
dwellings here in tasteful style, and they
present as neat an appearance as build
ings of brick or stone. In the center Of
the town is the celebrated Plaza-well
shaded, enclosed, and having in the
center large monument of sandstone to
the memory of the Federals who fell in
the Territory in various actions against
the Indians.
AROUND THE PLAZA
are the business houses and government
offices. The main streets lead from the
four corners of the plaza. In the south
ern part of the town stands an old, rude, |
adobe church, in bad repair, unique in |
appearance, and "by tradition" built by |
the old Mexicans, before the Spaniards |
entered Santa Fe. l have alluded to |
the similarity between Santa Fe and |
Pompei. Take off the tops of the Mexi-
can dwellings, uproot the shade trees,
give the place a deserted look, and we
will have Pompei of our own. The
general appearance would be about the
same, and Santa Fe would not be done
injustice. Even by this do not mean to
say that | dislike the place. On the
contrary, | can compare it to an oasis
in the desert. 1t has a novel look en-
hrely foreign to American towns, yet
well shaded, cool and attractive at once
to the stranger. Spanish is the Ian
gusge of the multitude. The climate is
as desirable probably as can be found
anywhere in the world. The thermom-
eter stands to-day sixty-four, and never
reaches higher than eighty. The citi-
zens boast of breezy days and cool
nights even in August, and temperate,
.
ion never has its birth and the rarified
lir has brought many suffering from tu-
circulation to health and strength
lgain. The lower class of Mexicans
hat we have seen are ignorant, indolent
md dirty. Yet they are respectful and :
)Olite. The men are as dark as Indians, |
he women have a lighter complexion.
The men care little how they look.
THE WOMEN
lave a mania for rich colors. The !
lothing of some is ornamented accord
ng to the means and class of the wear '
r, and they wear, without exception, a d
mall dark shawl gracefully around the /
lead instead of bonnet. A fe10 of the +
yomen are pretty, but the extended i
equation for beauty is a delusion-at s,
ny rate, just at the period Of our visit T.
eauties are exceedingly scarce. After s.
his assertion l must make one excep- a
ION. To-day, as we witnessed the an h
ual ceremony of taking the "blessed n
irgin" through the streets from the D
athedral to the ancient church-tht G
RESTS praying for the approach of the q
iiny season as they went-we noticed f
the long procession quite a number o.
beautiful young women. / verify be- /
eve, though, that the capital contains ty
Il that may be seen. Since the rough
ays of old, "fandango" is made Obso-
tie. The dance is still a feature, but
lore respectable, under the name of
byly." 1t is
square quadrille," the four II
)uples taking places on the corners n
stead of on the sides. No figures are l
alled. They are somewhat like the Z
dnceTs, and are gone through with II
ace and gravity. These dances are u
eld in high esteem by the Mexicans "a
Americans, too-since they are more u
snteel than the wild fandangoes" " Re
'46. i