Omaha daily bee., 1883-03-01
A MEXICAN TOWN.
Quaiut Pictures Of Every DAY
Life in a Mexican Vii
lage,
The Appearance of Churches
and Dwellings---B eggars,
Peddlers, Etc.


II. II In March Atlantic.
The town of Ell Paso Is on the
American side Of the Rio Grande, OPP
posite the old Mexican town OF Paso
del Norte. FL Paso is two years old;
| Paso del Norte, three hundred and
mo.e-how much more nobody knows.
A sharper antithesis could not be
found In the world than these two
towns afford, and the thorn In the
flesh that ri Paso Is to Paso del Norte,
only Paso del Norte people could de.
scribe. But they will not. They are
as mute and gentle to-day as they were
centuries ago, and submit to this sec
ond great conquest of their country
even more silently than they did the
first. The steam engine is greater
than the Cortez. Their doom was
sealed before; II will be accomplished
now. Walking through the streets OF
Paso del Norte, seeing the primeval
simplicity and poverty Of the inhabi.
tants, one wonders that they should
not have welcomed the coming of a
railroad, the bringing In Of supplies,
the opening OF q market. But they
did not. All they asked was to be let
alone.
The town claims to number tenthou.
sand inhabitants; this seems incredi
BILE. Still, It stretches for miles along
the banks Of the Rio Grande, an al
most unbroken line Of mud houses,
mud. walled vineyards and orchards;
and similar lines Of mud houses and
mud walls, with muddy bitches added,
run off at right angles to the river, for
q long distance. Every doorway
swarms with women and babies; every
shaded ditch bank swarms with chill.
drep, and the little plaza, Of Sunday,
swarms with men. Perhaps there are
ten thousand, after all; but that ten
thousand people could be living in a
town, and the town remain n month
what Paso del Norte is, Is q marvel,
and would be an impossibility to any
other race In the world; only the Mex.
loans could accomplish such Inertia, or
endure such discomfort.
Considered as q spectacle, as q pic-
ture, the town Is perfect; all that heart
could ask To be there on q Sunday
Is TO escape from America and the
nineteenth century al from place and
time forgotten.
The church Is o long, low adobe
building, with q good bell tower, OF
Moorish design. It Is In all proba.
bility nearly three hundred years old.
Part of the front has fallen, and hav'
ing been left lying where 1t fell, ha,
been converted by the swift sand
blowing gales into q hardened mound.
The winding stair case In the bel
tower Is made of solid rough.hewr
logs; q clumsy post, also solid an6
rough-hewn, being driven through
them In the corner The ceiling o.
the church Ia made of logs, reeds, sni
saplings. The logs are most ~ouriously
and effectively carved In deep.ou'
lines, intersecting each other u % t.
make regular diamond -shaped Inter
walls; In each of these intervals . sor'
Of rose, and at each intersection Q pro
jecting peg. The effect 10 marvel
ously decarstjyeiiti.-s design xhicl
to-day. The legs are supported a
each end by . graceful bracket
8 wrought In the same pattern, ant
; every beam and support Of the build
Ing is similarly carved. The spaceI
between these logs are about twic,
the width of the log, and are filled ir
a with small round saplings or reeds
set at o slant corresponding to the
slanting carved lines on the logs, anG
= alternating right and left In the al
ternating spaces. This alienation
greatly heightens the effect of the
ceiling. There are traces of color
decoration on the walls, but ruthlea,
whitewash has nearly obliterateG
!, them; and there are no pictures OF
other adornments at all on the same
plane as the wood carving.
The church stands on a sandy emil
hence, looking southwark down on the
sandy little plaza. Two sandy streets
, lead up to 1t, more than sandy they
are-snkle deep In sand, except here
and there o rod OF two scattered pave
mont; prehistoric, apparently, an6
apparently held In reverence by the
Mexicans, who seldom walk on II,
choosing rather to wade In the sand
The more elegant Of the women weal
long skirts, trailing q foot or two be
hind them. They would soorn to iii
them. 1t has never been the ousto q
Of the race to do 30, and no dowagel
in England can sweep her brocad'
train over the queens floors with
finer combination Of leisurely non
chAlance and dignity than do tn,
Mexican danes trail their dusty cot
ton through the clouds Of sand In tn
streets OF Paso del Norte. 1t Is q
fine q thing, In Its way, as the som
. brero, and as full Of Significance.
Loug before the mass begins III,
Y floor of the church Is crowded witt
kneeling figures; men on the right
women and children on the left. 4
d few have brought gay rugs or blanket
to kneel on; but the most kneel hum
bly, on the bare floor. Upon all tn
. faces is an expression of solemn
Q Q almost sad devotion, which would no
have seemed mad quate even to Padr'
Gomez, who, two hundred years ago
9 used to preach from the queer littl,
: carved cask hanging precariously higl
/ up on the wall. The books of births
i marriages and deaths, which he KEEP
. are still lying where he for SO many
= wears used To nut them oarafnllv away