Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-05-31

infinitely describe hereafter-and the
new purely American. 1t is curious
to note the blending of the old and the
new; one monument of the quiet,
sleepy, phlegmatic, but staid life of the
foreigner, the other living exponent
of the breezy progressive, wide-awake
and versatile Yankee The natives are
awakened one morning by the shrek
of an engine, the surveyors are on the
ground, dirt flies, foundations are laid,
and ere they can recover from their
dazed condition, they find themselves
eclipsed and roaming the streets of an
enchanted city.
At eight O'Clock we took breakfast at
the r. R. hotel, and better and more
substantial meal it has never been my
lot to partake of, Our bill of fare was
beefsteak, sausage, antelope, mutton
chops, mountain trout and every thing
in proportion. OF course after such a
meal we were able to take long ram
BILE, which we did, and it lasted until
two o'clock when were to start for the
Hot Springs, which is six miles further
up in the mountains. In this walk we
saw many interesting things.
There was the old cathedral, nucle-
us around which all old Mexican towns
are built. In fact a Mexican town
without a cathedral would be like tail
without dog; generally the cathedral
wags the town. There were the irri-
eating bitches, following along the
curbstones of the streets, anon ram
bling off into gardens, and by-ways,
and always filed with pure sparkling
water from the mountain springs.
Roses grow spontaneously here, and
many is the fragrant Whit we got
while passing cultivated gardens and
little unoccupied rural hooks. Finally
specimen of architecture that l ever
beheld; its Dimensions We're simply
enormous, and l sincerely believe that
there is nothing like it upon the face of
the earth. 1t so excited our curiosity
that we inquired of laborer who was
working near by, what 1t was, and he
gave US the following explanation =
There was wealthy Mexican there,
who. a number Ofayears ago resided in
one of the old adobe houses. He sent
his son to Saint Louis to be educated
and upon the sons return he gave such
a glowing account of the palatial stone
front residences which he saw there,
that the Mexican was filled with envy
and determined to l ct no Yankee Guido
him, he set about constructing SINH
lar abode for himself, and this struct-
ure was the result. l wish L could
picture it for you, but as [ am not an
artist l cannot do it. No man could de-
scribe 1t with a pen, for there IS nothing
under the sun with which to compare
it. The n eaerst l can come to 1t is this ::
1t was something like q dilapidated
specimen of shabby gentility, who, hav-
ing been on a ''bust," suddenly ap-
peared before you with hat caVed in,
coat inside out, nose mashed over face,
and eye frescoed like an easter egg.
However, [ suppose it satisfied the es-
thetic taste of its owner.
Here; for the first time, [ beheld q
genu inc Mexican Greaser upon a gen
uine Mexican Burro, q put both names
in capitals not knowing which would be
insulted if [ omitted the cOurtesy.)
The Burro; that great medium of in
ternal transportation; the patient best
friend of the Gleaser; this purely Mex
lean production as necessary and sta
pie to them as flour in Kansas, deserves
more than a passing mention. He IS,
IN my opinion, a cross between g. Jack
Rabbit and a saw-buck; in length of
ears and gene raj innocency of express
sion, partaking of the former, and in
obtuseness and immObility, approx
mating strongly toward the latter.
He is about the size of a three months
old calf, but as strong as an elephant.
To carry two heavy men on his back
at one time, is for him simply an1use-
ment; and to be loaded with faggots
until he resembles cord of stove wood
on stills, with ears sticking through
like church spires, is purely for him an
exhilerating delight. His diet is some
thing akin to that of the ostrich; he
will browse for hours on shrubs and
withered weeds, while old rags and &C
cumulated filth in the alleys, are sweet
| est morsels for his delicate palate. But
as we said before, he is staple, and is,
to the Mexican of the mountain and
| plain, what the dromedary is to the
Arab OF the desert.
At the cornN of an alley we met a
! Mexican woman with group of four
| children ranging in ages from one to
ten years. The little fellows with their
glossy hair, sparkling eyes, pearly teeth,
and nut brown complexion, formed a
very pretty picture. A crimson tint
was upon their peachy cheeks, and they
looked happy and intelligent. The
mother saw our admiring gaze and
was evidently proud of her children;
but when we offered to buy one, with ma
ternal instinct she gathered them more
closely in her arms, and smiled as
she shook her head in the negative.
With American audacity we took the
liberty to enter one of the adobe huts,
domicile of one of the poorer classes.
But we found that Congressional au-
dacity had EXCEEDED ours, for inside was