Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-09-25
ROuTe,HING TIN MEXICO.

ones i'm the city. There are, however,
quite a number of Chinese restaurants,
at which one can obtain good board at
one dollar per day.
While in Chihuahua we saw Mex
lean funeral procession pass. First
comes hack covered entirely, even
the wheels, with black Grape. The
corpse follows on tile shoulders of six
poems; about twenty young men, dress
ed i'm black, are next, the relatives and
friends of the deceased bringing up the
rear. The corpse is set in the middle
of the church, in front OF the the altar,
which is lighted up with long wax can
dies. The young men dressed in black
are seated around the corpse, and each
is given lighted wax candle, which
he holds during the entire service,
which Is very long. After all are seat
ed, a priest above us sings part, ac-
companied by an organ, the arch-bish-
op and two assisting priests answering.
They chant alternately; first the priest
above us, then the others. AS the SER
vice is entirely in Latin we can under
stand none of it. Holy water is
sprinkled around the coffin, while two
lighted lamps burning essence, are
swung above 1.-THE priest chanting
the while. After the services the
corpse is taken out of the church, the
procession forms as above described,
and they move slowly out of the city.
Upon reaching the open grave the
corpse is taken out of the coffin and
lowered into the ground. We do not
know whether there is a coffin in the
grave or not; but, one thing certain,
the coffin in which the corpse was
brought to the grave was not lowered
into it. The funeral just described was
that of a Mexican Senator. We saw
several others afterwards, and the cof-
fin in no instance was buried with the
corpse. Whether they are used again
or not, we can not say.
The market-house here covers one
block and has four entrances, one on
each side. Shops in which meat, bread,
dry goods, mescal, cigars, cigarettes,
etc., are sold, open out on the streets
entirely around the building. The in
side is divided off into stalls. Vegeta-
bles and crockeryware a.,e the principal
things offered for sale. Nearly every
thing is tied up ia small bundles,
which sell for q. esSs0sY coin worth a.
cent and half. We have forgotten
how it is spelt; it is pronounced some
thing like "clacker.n We once went
to the market house to purchase two
dollars worth of vegetables. and al
though We attended strictly to busi-
ness, we were nearly two hours inI
spending it all. When we led for
twenty-five cents worth ofonions they
looked at us with wide-open, wonder
ing eyes. Everything is sold with this
"clacker" as a basis. Their money
consists of this copper coin, "clacker,"
twenty-five and fifty cent and one-dol-
lar pieces, silver, with paper money of
same denominations. A dollar was
the largest piece of money III circula-
ton when we first went into the coun-
try; a short time afterwards, however,
five and ten dollar bills, silver certifi- |
Gates, were issued by Macmanus' bank.
Near the time we left they were trying !
to Introduce one, two and fve-cent |
pieces, taking up the "clacker," but, as
fhnN- CnfI 1nol of ,,f
these coins, it was very difficult to per-
suade the people to accept them; they |
did not know how to make change or
to price their goods with them. When
the pay-car first paid off in fivr and
ten dollar certificates, you could, with
two dollars paper money, buy either
one of them from the poems. They
had never seen money of larger drnom-
iuation than dollar, and therefore
thought they were doing extraordina-
rily well in the trade.
The meat to supply the whole town
of Chihuahua is slaughtered in one
house. The cattle are lassoed in the
corral, jerked, pulled and driven under
a kind of porch, where they are skin
ned, etc.-caught by the hind legs,
thrown off their feet, their fore and
hind legs tied together, tail and head
fastened together over the back. Then
the animal is hauled over uit,l it's
neck lies across gutter, man draws
a knife across it's throat, cutti,g it
about halfas deep as is necessary, stops,
whets his knife on n small piece of
steel, talks a few seconds-the steer
all the time-and then fin
shes the job. Their idea is that the
,attle become very much heated during
he slaughtering, and therefore the
neat is much more tender if leisurly
killed, than it would be otherwise. AS
cooked by the Mexicans, we are sure,
f it does make the meat any tenderer,
We would be very thankful if they
would worry and heat the cattle more .
han they do. The meat is never
is cut into pieces about half [
IN inch square, and is always well
lone; consequently it is invariably /
ough.
Instead of using wagons for deliver |
ng the meat to the different shops, {
the country, pole about
light feet long. sharpened on each end, |
, run through the meat and carried .