Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1884-02-13

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finished it for her wedding outfit. Of
necessity there IS a dearth of those
| little ornaments-b brackets, easels, brio
a-brac, etc, which American ladies
especially delight in. as they are not
within reach of all here as in the Uaited
States; but each corner stand is also
loaded with lamps and empty vases,
both of which are valued for ornament
rather than use. Artificial flowers
sometimes enter into the decorations,
but rarely is one made by Mother
Nature ever seen within doors. Chro-
mos and engravings sparingly adorn
the wall for in these frontier states a
chrome, dreadful enough to set ones
teeth on edge, which may be bought in
New York, frame and all, for a couple
of dollars, is here, owing to the duties,
almost as expensive as decent oil
painting.
At the extreme end of the sala de
recibo, farthest from the entrance, is
always precisely the same arrange
ment of furniture in every Mexican
house-a rug or square of carpet, with
four or six chairs placed close together
upon it, in two straight lines, facing
island in the sea of this big, bare room
which is bounded upon the farther
side by the sofa against the wall
guests are shown with great ceremony
on entering, for in this particular spot
the hostess concentrates her forces, as
we understand the art Of doing in
spiritual seances and revival meetings.
The windows reach almost from floor
to ceiling, are wider than church doors,
and always with wooden or iron bars
before them. A comparatively few
casas in Mexico luxuriate in window
glass. But as the duty on that sub
stance is nothing less than robbery, the
vast ma jority dispense with it altogeth-
er. The windows have heavy inside
shutters, like doors, not furnished with
Stats like ours, but solid wood and
opening in the middle both ways. AS
shades are not possible, owing TO their
peculiar construction, the only way to
secure the slightest degree of privacy
when the household machinery is not
on exhibition, is TO close the lower half
of the doOr-like shutters. Mexicans
entertain the idea that windows were
made to look in at, more than to look
out Of, and it is daily occurrence for
the lower classes to congregate outside
the bars and stand calmly gazing in
upon you by the hour. These open
ings in the thick walls form deep re-
cesses, which afford ample room for
placing chairs upon the window ledges,
and therein the family sit in the cool
of the day. In summer time this is
very pleasant, but when long cold
rains come on (and they sometimes
even have n little snow in these higher
latitudes) the absence of window glass
is great dis comfort, for to close the
shutters entirely means total darkness.
In Saltillo, Zacatecas, and other
mountain cities, the winters are really
cold, and how they bear them without
any protection from the outer air, OF
any possibility of making a fire, (thert
is not q house in Mexico with any man.
ner of provision for stove or tireplace)
is mystery. Then all the family
from Oldest TO youngest, wrap them
selves in zebosas and Za~apas. cur
their feet up under them, and possess
their souls in patience, for having never
known any other mode of life, they dc
not dream of making themselves more
comfortable by knocking out a chimney.
The first sight Of these barred windows
strikes the traveller in Mexico un'
pleasantly, and he is aptto feel himself
in prison behind them, with his stone
floor and iron bedstead for suitable
accessories. In time however, he sees
not only the convenience, but the
necessity of them, and by and by comes
to feel an uneasy sense of Insecurity,
if, by rare chance, he finds himself not
thus protected.