Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-10-05


to have cost him $50 600, Is built the model of
one Of our large city elevators. The story is that
his eldest son visited st. Louis, and saw while
there an elevator two stories high. Struck with
the beauty of the architecture. he posted home,
and straightway up went the house. Later
another son visited St. Louis and saw an elevator
three stories high up went the fathers house
another story. Later still, another son saw high
cupola topping the whole; and this, too, was
added to the Mexican's villa. Whether this story
be true or not such is the house in Vegas.
Santa Fe is the most un- American OF American
cities. 1t is almost oriental or Egyptian in ap-
pearance. You hear a foreign language; the
people about you are not Of your race, and indeed
unlike any other race.
The Mexicans of New Mexico are-with many
illustrious exceptions, of course-superlatively
lazy and unreliable; and the only growth noted
in them since the territory became part of the
United States has been 10 Incidence and perfdy.
Americans will hire them for one thing,-to herd
sheep. Here they are tremendously Industrious,
for the chief part OF their business is smoking and
sleeping in the sun. This idleness brings about
vast amount of beggary, wherein the pure Mexi-
can is an adept. On the ranchos you will still
luu tnc Woouch pioW thht thol hdNo uScu ioi
ages, and the clumsy ox-cart, the two wheels of
which are tied with rawhide Wheat isgathered
with a SICKLE threshed by driving sheep or goats
over it, and ceansed by tossing in the air,-all
after the fashion OF the Bible times, you see
Then wheat and corn is ground in a queer, in
efficient little MILL scarcely less ancient than the
cart, the plow, and the threshing machine,-a
mill that will grind about two bushels of grain in
a week.
Among the common people, the thing which
impresses you first and last, and deeply and pain
fully, is the utter lack Of beauty or rather, the
startling and omnipresent ugliness of both men
and women. II you saw nobody but Mexican
women you might mistake Santa Fe for school
Of design for witches and hags and fates and fu-
ries. Beauty dies young here. Mexican babies
quite pretty, the children bright-looking, the
girls ordinary, the young ladies homely, the
young married women ugly, the older women
hideous. Sidney Smith, you remember, when
the weather grew hot, used to sigh to take off his
| flesh and sit in his bones. The numerous old
women who sit on the street corners OF Santa Fe
and beg, not in speech or by the extended hand
but with eyes sunken, CHASTITY, deathly, with
faces furrowed, haggard, repulsive, seem to have
realized this wish. The Egyptian mummy in the
museum looks like relic Of ages well-nigh pre-
historic, and in accordance with the proprieties Of
the case, makes no pretension to life. but is de-
Gently and honoraby dead. These old Mexican
witches look equally antiqusted, but persist in
continuing to breathe and smoke and tell fortunes
There are three things which the Mexican
thoroughly enjoys,-smokng, gambling and dane
ing. lie smokes the cigarette, which is rolled ia
and made usually Of good tobacco. lie will al
ways offer you one, politely putting 1t into hi;
own mouth and lighting for you II you accept
Gambling is a national passion, and is carried oI
night and day, especially on Sundays, in very
queer ways, which have not time here to de
scribe. Another national passion is dancing; bu
an aristocratic Mexican ball is model of pro
priety which puts to shame the American institu
tion OF the same name. The young people-ant
old people, too-assembe at an early hour thu
women sitting on one side Of dimly lighte,
room and the men on the other. The favorit
dance is complicated kind OF quadrille whicl
takes the foreigner long time to master, r,-ststely
dgnifed, proper Waiting is considered indie
cent, while the Newport or racquette would shocl
the Mexican matron beyond recovery. When thu
music begins the young man rises with graceful
anu somewhat grandiose air, advances TO Tn
center oil the room and mods to uie lady OF hi
choice, who comes forward with the same grac
and stateliness The young man must look YER
sheepish indeed II she refuses to honor him, but
think she never does At the close OF the sc
they retire to the proper side OF the room, an
the whole performance closes at an early hour.
Mexican men dress much as Americans do, ex
cept that they are over-fond OF bright colore
neckties las are also some Am srican young men
to be sure) and OF very wide hats, called som
breros, which make them look like animated sun
shades; the effect, on the whole, being quit
agreeable and cooling The women are fond O
black and bright colors too, aud wear on the
heads, instead Of hats, long-h)wing black shawls
which frequently conceal all the face except tn
eyes,-a circumstance which perhaps may hav
given rise to the newspaper talk about prett
Mexican girls for their eyes are sometimes quit
pretty, and to the imagination OF the average col
respondent, It would seem, inspiring
No description OF New Mexico would be com
plete that did not devote special chapter to til
discussion Of the burro. think | can say, will
out exaggeration, that the burro is the most u.s.
ful member Of New Mexican society. Withol
any OF the vices, he combines all the virtues
his contemporaries, the American, the Mexican
the Pueblo, the sheep, the centipede, the tara
tula. II he is not quite 80 bright and progressi,
~ the white man, neither does he drink ba
whiskey, nor gamble away the hard earnings th
should go to his family in the states. He has a
the religious devotion OF the Mexican, yet Is wit
out superstition, and modest and chaste as Il
morning star. With all the industry Of Il
Pueblo, he is tidy in his habits, and has intel
gence without cunning,
Richly endowed in the beginning with su,
Christian virtues and graces rs faith. hope, cha
ity, humility, and long-suf ering, education al
the laws OF heredity have made of him as perfe
, success in his line as they have Of the mu
with different natural endowments In his.