Omaha daily bee., 1883-03-01
A MEXICAN TOWN.
Quaitt 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.

OdtAohot ISSs
II. II In March Atlantic.
The town Of Ell Paso Is on the
American side Of the Rio Grande, OPP
poslte the old Mexican town OF Paso
del Norte. El 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 Psso del Norte,
only Psao 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; 1t 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 q
railroad, the bringing In Of supplies,
the opening OF o 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, 1t stretches for miles along
the banks of the Rio Grande, al 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 swsrms with chill.
dren; and the little plaza, Of q 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 one month
what Paso del Norte Is, Is q marvel,
and would be an impossibility to any
other race In the world; only the Mex.
leans could accomplish such Inertia, OF
endure such discomfort.
Considered as o spectacle, as o pic-
ture, the town Is perfect; all that heart
could ask To be there on q Sunday
Is 10 escape from America and the
nineteenth century as from place and
time forgotten.
The church Is Q long, low adobe
building, with a good bell tower, of
Moorish design. 1t 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, has
been converted by the swift sand
blowing gales into q hardened mound.
The winding stair case In the bell
tower Is made of solid rough-hewn
logs; . clumsy post, also solid and
rough.hewn, being driven through
them In the corner. The ceiling Of
the church Ia made of logs, reeds, and
saplings. The logs are most ouriously
and effectively carved In deep.out
lines, intersecting each other 30 a to
make regular acknowledged inter.
walls; In each of these intervals Q sort
OF rose, and at each intersection . pro-
jecting peg. The effect ID marvel
ously decnrstjyeiiti,A dssigR. which
to-day. The legs are supported al
each end by Q graceful bracket,
wrought In the same pattern, and
every beam and support of the build
Ing is similarly carved. The spaces
between these logs are about twice
the width of the log, and are filled In
with small round saplings or reeds,
set at a slant corresponding to the
slanting carved lines on the logs, and
alternating right and left In the al.
ternating spaces. This alienation
greatly heighters the effect of the
ceiling. There are traces of color
decoration on the walls, but ruthless
whitewash has nearly obliterated
them; and there are no pictures or
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
sre--ankle deep In sand, except here
and there q rod or two scattered pave
meni; prehistoric, apparently, and
apparently held In reverence by the
Mexicans, who seldom walk on H.,
choosing rather to wade In the sand.
The more elegant CT the women wear
long skirts, trailing = foot or two be-
hind them. They would soorn to lit
them. 1t has never been the custo N
Of the raoe to do so, and no dowager
in England Jan sweep her brocade
train over the queens floors with a
finer combination of leisurely non
chalance and dignity than do the
Mexican danes trail their dusty cot
ton through the clouds Of sand in the
streets OF Paso del Norte. 1t Ii a.
fine q thing, In Its way, as the SON.
brero, and as full Of Significance.
Loog before the mass begins the
floor of the church Is crowded with
kneeling figures; men on the right,
women and children on the left. A
few have brought gay rugs or blankets
to kneel on; but the most kneel hum.
bly, on the bare floor. Upon all the
faces Is an expression Of solemn,
almost sad devotion, which would not
have seemed mad quate ven to Padre
Gomez, who, two hundred years ago,
used to preach from the queer little
carved cask hanging precautionary high
up on the wall. The books of births,
marriages and deaths, which he kept
are still lying where he for So many
years used to put them carefully away,
in a big osken chest in the saciisty.
Their sheep skin covers are fringed at
the edges, and worn almost as by stip-
pling tools; but his handwriting is al