The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-05-19

/ which may ne seen AZ any VI Sii vi WI
fashionable seaside resorts. Notwi hstand-
Ing their peculiar ways" | have never
seen q more modest or polite people, es-
Ipecially the senOrltas, and although I'M
moral in the eyes of foreigners, they are|
not socially corrupt And while there may
| DO much loOseness aud immortality amongst
them, there is not near so much as they
are credited with, and perhaps all things
considered, they are no worst tnan lhelr
| American neighbOrs. A woman that leaves
the path OF virtue here bears the brand or
scorn to certain degree, but not as Sc
verely as IN our more fashionable and Chris-
tan communities. You meet one o! those
eenoritas on the street, and as she nears
YOU she wraps her rihosa-that remnant OF
Spanish manulla-about her with grand
air aud modesty that is wonderful to be-
hold. Old and young, rich and poor, a. ike
wear the black shawl 1t Is their badge,
the emblem Of Castilian arss,ocracy.
1t was long after dinner when started
to invade the sacred soil of Mexico, and
although only March, as Capt. Fly OF the
II Custom House force remarked, ut was
hotter than Hadesw AT least we felt 1t
so, and as we crossed the sandy bar ana In.
to gondola, | remarked to my old town
= friend Frank Leonard, who is connected
with the Mexican Central Railway: III
this is only March, what must the heat he
in July and AuGust""Not any worse" he
remarked, and that March was considered
: a hot month IN Mexico! With that eXpla-
nation, aud beneath the shade of an um.
brela and the thermometer 1902 IN the cool.
est corner,-we were famed by the cooling
, breeze OF the RIO Grande, while polled
4 from shore to shore. The mode of naviga.
, ton on the Rio Grsnde del Norie, like
everything else in Mexico, is primitive
y Here instead of row boats, ferry, or some
y, other contrivance, the natives use long
I pole for motive power, such as the Jordan
1 ties used in the days of Christ, while their
boats are clumsy and cumbersome.
: 4 ride through the town was our first
i move So engaging senior with a broad
A.. hrlmmed somOrero and the best rig on
q the stand, we took it IN. Few have any
4, idea OF the utter squalor Of Mexican
= town, and IN no other country on earth can
be seen such miserable huts as these peo
pie live IN Most of them are not more
than ten or fifteen feet square, in which
large families are dolnlciled. Everywhere
> about the outskirts of the town are to bt
c seen the low huts built of sticks, mud and
b drltt-wood, rooted with sod, upon sticks Of
q cane and covered with pieces OF canvas
and all presenting the appearance OF the
Il utmost squal or, with burroS, donkeys, dogs
c hogs and chickens, mlngling IN the iaml }
circle Although one would naturally sup
b pose these huts are filthy nests, a glance
into most of them convinCes the curious
: that everything Is orderly and neat, bu
e poor to the last degree. And yet an ordi
2. nary barn is n palace compared to most o.
~ them. What astonishes all who see then
is how people can exist IN such places OF
10 abode, and such scanty sustenance rs the
'r average Mexican subsists ont There is :
matter of doubt IN my mind as to whether
N the Mexican or the Chinese can live OF
the least possible amount of nothing
Eltber OF them can live on very little, bu
surely looking at it from Mexican stand
is point.
70 "Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long"
- MEXICAN VILLAGE
Is neither enchanting nor Impressive. 1t
n, hard to convey in writing what 1t look
r. like. But suppose you take any numbe
&c of dry goods boXes-according to the slz
ofthe town-enlarge them a few times thei
NJ original size, cover them all over wit
g mud, leaving small hole for door, AM
ne place link OF sewer-plpe tor chimney
=, do not be particular about a "wlndOw,"-
~ that is never thought ot-scatter then
re srouHd on the ground in spots. here, ther
lie und everywhere, without regard to streets
O. lanes o. alleys, and then you have Next
"a can village! No trees, no shrubs, no flow
~ ers, no grassy plats fences or any othe
IL adornments whatever, but any number o
e, goats, dogs aud burros ia the foreground
u For street scene the cOnsummate ass, o
burrO, little larger than a NewtOundlan
Va dog, with big box or bundle strapped t
his back or saddled by swarthy Mexlca
ne with broad brimmed sOm6rerO, who's
v legs almost touch the ground, and who sil
=, lust as close TO the tail as he can pOsslOl
'n get As | before stated, the houses ar
70 built OF sticks, mud aud drift-woOd, bu
IN generally adobe, An adobe is mud house
mi generally onc-story nigh, built of sun
dried bricks or chunks OF mud. each brio
~ about three inches thick four wide, an
O. twelve or fifteen inches long. These ar
as placed one above the other, as In our brio
=, buildings. until the required height
- reached, which is usually six or seven fee
X sometimes more, leaving place for doc
ne but seldom tor window. Then the roc
n Is put on, which differs according to III
10 means AMI talent of the builder. 1t ma
)" be undiscovered, sticks, straw or canva
CT but whatever it may be, this when com
or plete is an adobe house. The entrance open
Us upon an interior square on the groun
az floor, from which doors lead into ever
re room in the house. The adobe is conv
ny nlcnt building, and well adapted to Il
M wants Of the country, being warm in VIII
~ ter and cool In summer. Seen At a distsnC
as they present an odd appearance, and ne'
no approach IN the main does not improN
od their appearance. Cellars are unknow
er among the Mexican adobes, and in nearl
We all cases their floor is mother earth, cor
~, venlence for the women folks, who new
'e- bother themselves as to whist the sprlr
9ir style of carpet will be, and seldom borro
e. trouble on account OF hopping or scrut
W. bling the floor
r, If there is anything calm or beautiful
10, earth it'll
nj MEXICAN SUMNER NIGHT.
y, Nowhere else, that have seen, does Il
~ :" starry dome appear so grand, and u
-, ~ con sellation sparkle with such brillianc
"a while the full round moon shines bright
'N down with luster that is truly wonde