Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-12-07
A Typical Mexican Casa.

In the architecture and furnishing of
Mexican houses there is no such variety
as in the United States, but one "casa"
of the better class is almost an exact
counterpart of thousands of others. Let
us take a survey of this in which I have
for some time been living, as It is a
typical home of the average, wcll-to-do
Mexican. Like most in this ancient
city. Il house was built at least two
hundred years ago, and its adobe
walls, five feet thick, look capable of
defying all storms to come till the
resurrection morning. After the man.
ner of all Mexican houses, it has a great
number of rooms built around and all
opening into q central court, which lat
ter large %unroofed space is paved with
small, sharp stones, walking upon
which makes n feel like a p%enitential
pilgrim with peas in his shoes. In this
court figs, bananas and pomegranates
are growing, and flowers blossom the
whole Year through, planted in adobe
boxes elevated several feet above the
ground. In the center is the inevitable
deep, deep we'll, its adobe frame and in
ner walls draped with ferns and Itch
ems. In many houses these inner courts
are very beautiful, each with its foun-
tain among the flowers, surrounded by
a pink cement paved corridor, under
whose bright-hued awnings the family
swing their hammocks, take their after
noon chocolate and spend many hours
OF every day. Wooden floors are un-
known in Mexico, all houses being paved
with large square bricks, or with a ce-
ment which resembles polished stone.
Wooden carpets are rarely INDUCED in,
except in the form of rugs. There is a
native carpet made from ixtle (the fiber
Of the century plant), which is much
like our hemp, only far more durable.
1t is painted by hand, after being woven,
generally rose-pink, with dashes of pur-
pie and green. and, strange to say, these
delicate colors are fadeless. There is
also a pretty mating Of Indian manu-
f%acture, called petate, which is made of
shredded palm leaves, braided in seam
less squares as large as required. Really.
these paved floors, which shine like
marble, Of a soft gray color or tinted the
usual strawberry pink, are too beautiful
to be hidden by much of our ugly stiff
figured Brussels or ingram. Besides.
bare floors are more appropriate to this
insect-breeding climate, and far more
healthful and clearly. But 1t must be
confessed, they have their disadvantages.
The cement contains much saltpeter,
which holds dampness eternally, so that.
owing to frequent additions. the floors
are seldom perfectly dry. However hot
the days, wehave generallychilly nights,
and II feels like going to bed in ones
boots rather than put bare feet upon
floors which are then as cold as the char
ity Of the world. Every casa has it's
salade recibo (drawing-room), of more
or less magniticence. 1t may not con-
tain much in the way of furniture. but
is always by far the largest room in the
housc-very long and narrow, like a
town hall. Having but one story and
a flat roof, the walls NC extremely high.
and the artistic effect OF grayish plaster,
outlined by painted dado and frcsco
decorations, the reddish wood of the sa-
bine beams overhead left like .'beautv
u~nadorned'' OF covered with painted
canvas, combined with the gray or pink
paved floors, is exceedingly pleasing to
the eye.-SaHiNo (lLer. Cor. Lwd5a1ap-
oils JOu9yzu7.