The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1874-08-20
New Mexico Bread.
,ou THE NATIVES GROW, GATHER, AMI
~ GRIND WHEAT.

GRIND WHEAT.
correspondent of that bright journal.
H., N;lwaukie Sentinel, writing from Col
% ,,n Citv Colorado, says:
stranger travelling in New Mexico
ting of the bread made there is cur
a''" - know how and of what it is made /;
sn, the color and taste of the black loaf
r,-, him he is unable to tell whether it
wheat. of oats, of cautus, or of potato
He tastes the article and abandons
One mouthful is sufficient to stay his
' u.,;te in that direction, and desires he to
"It t.something else And yet he don't know
i,t to ask for He feels very very much
.ba man in a certain restaurant did, who.
%.r;,r taken 4 sip of some vile concoction
-, ~ before him, exclaimed "Well, [ de-
I,-a What is this ? See here, waiter.
:S,bis Is coffee bring me tea, and if it is
want some coffee This bread is
,Esgt-in-bread, and of the various process
W.. the wheat undergoes before it is made
:,,, bread. | shall give short account.
In the first place, in order that wheat
I'm he obtained wheat must must be sown.
,nl before it is sown the ground must be
r-srared. This we all know but let us
t96w also how these operations are per-
s.-med. Well, then, the ground is first
,r,orled. or rather scratched, with an i'm
,remsnt decidedly primitive in construc-
linn, which consists of pole and a stick
L.nnd together with raw-hides. This con-
corn Is drawn by yoke Of oxen, which are
sttacbed to the pole, and Is steered by a
Mexican. who hangs on to one end of the
.,i.k. the other end slightly sharpened or
,inpeI with iron, entering the soil. The
c-sin Is sown by hand and the ground har-
rared BIZ having limb of tree dragged
over it. When the grain is ripe the
Mexican proceeds in his bungling manner
I'll shall not say cut his grain, for he |
does not-but to break off, saw off the
straw. and pull it up by the roots, using for
ii, weapon some old barrel hoop or other
1;ece of iron which he had sharpened and
hacked upon until toothed edge was
formed.
After this ceremony is finished, the crop
+, gathered up. put into an enclosure, and
-rc cattle Of the neighborhood turned in to
r-anrlc upon it. These cattle are driven
about by the whip-lash of the gallant Mex
iran until the grain is well threshed out.
and. might add. well favored. Then the
straw is shaken and tied up into bundles
The wheat. chaff, dirt. and stones are
rushed up into hides and emptied in heaps
oa the knobs, where it is winnowed.
Women and children participate in the
vmnowiug They take a handful of the
mixture and throw it into the air the
winds blows away the chaff, and the pure
grain p falls upon smooth, hard, fiat
slrfce, previously prepared This pro-
-ss 5 continued until all the solid matter
Is separated from the chaf, and often lasts
several weeks. Now the farmer gathers
u the proceeds Of his crop into cowhide
sacks and takes il to the mill.
\ Mexican Touring mill is considered
by Nezielns an exceedingly complicated af-
fir. requiring mastery skill to run it. 1t
Is ID fact, q very we'll executed caricature .
ata mill, perfect burlesque throughout
The building Is small two-story shantv.
rs-tei directly over / swift running stream
d. water. The water-wheel Is nothing
more than some boards struck in around an
upright shaft, and l. turned By the water
srikeing one side Of it. This is in the first I
zory. In the second story the millstones
are worked. They are two in number, -,
.ast as in any Touring mill, with a hole in =
raair centres, through which this upright
wooden shaft passes. The bottom stone is
rn@D,ed IN brick-work. while the upper
me j wedged fast TO the shaft, and revol-
g, With It and the paddles below. 1t sits
.sstly over and on top Of the lower stone.
neither balanced nor trimmed. and. con- r
.slgently, constantly wearing off stone
-lst, which mixes in with the -four. The Il
s'.m Is introduced to the stones from an o.
'1--lIe reservoir, with its mouth often out =.
@la. and sticking through the roof through /
-a odd bootleg. There Is no curb around
NE stones, so the -four flies off in every
direction upon the floor where. after being
i'l apon by dirty feet, is swept up in +
4 and finally put into ox-hide sacks
'll now. then, after all these different p,
'.@s,1s, the -four resulting therefrom is q,
5a.y unit for civilized man to eat, some
-'l,' they pass it through a sieve made of
G., l.-5 Of slnews or perforated hide but N
- l'as not improve it much 1t. Is still the Va
sle mess offlth. l do not wonder it strikes :
'lSh the skin Of the Mexican who eats
'aa makes him dark completion
..I o.,sn'y-nlae and half per cent. of the i !
- exports Of sugar and molasses from