The Iola register., 1884-02-15
Mexico o Larger Country Than Many
Imagine.

Mexico Larger Country Than Many
Imagine.
Mexico is much larger country than
people imagine Prior to her war with
the United States the total area was
about 100000 square miles. The
United States took about 760, 600 square
miles, leaving in round Numbers about
100000. On this territory there is
a populatian of nearly or quite 10, ,OOO,-
600 souls; 100000 of these afe In
dians, descendants of the aboriginal
Aztecs, while the remainder of the pop
ulation is composed of Spaniards, Mex
leans of pure white blood. and a mix
ture of other races. Mexico is a repub-
l;c, and is composed of twenty seven
States, one Territory and the Federal
District. 1t has Senate and q House
of Representatives and q Constitution
very similar to that of the United States.
There are two Senators from each State,
who are elected by districts instead of
by Legislatures-as in our country
and there is one member for every h0.-
600 inhabitants The Chief Executive
is also elected by the people, and cleo
ton here is conducted ia pretty much
the same way as in the States.
The Mexican people may be divided
into three classes the people of wealth.
culture and leisure; middle class who
are well-to-do shop-keepers and trades
men, and finally. the laborers. who are
usually either Aztecs or half-breeds.
The first have a large amount of &C.
cumulated wealth, mostly in lands or
in bullion from the rich mines. and live
in luxury. The middle class have COM
Portable homes, and are quiet. peacea-
BILE citizens. The laborers have few
wants. The men wear but two garments
"A white cotton shirt and white cotton
.rowsers The women DIRE in q long
skirt, with a sort of basque OF white
cotton. The majority of them have
neither shoes nor stockings, but in place
Of these wear leather sandals. strapped
tightly to the foot by thong of leather,
passing between the great and second
toes and then around The heel. Every
Mexican household has q great number
of servants in proportion to the size of
the family. and how they all manage
to occupy themselves is q mystery.
There is one creadO, whose sole busi-
ness is to manufacture the tortillas; an
other does the marketing; q third acts
as steward; another does the cooking;
one washes the dishes; one keeps the
house tidy; while others attend the
children. wait upon the mistress to
comb her hair and dust her dresses
which literally sweep the dity streets
whenever she walks out, the American
short skirts being considered dreadfully
immodest. Besides this retinue of SER
wants there are always gardeners. host
lers, errand boys, Wallets and scullions.
But servants in Mexico are differenl
from those of the United States. Here
they do not demand the salary of con-
gressmen nor insist upon "days OUT
and company in" nor do they become
20 domineering that their employer is
allowed to remain on condition that
she observes sufficient POliteness. Mexi-
can creados consider four dollars a
month large salary, and in time they
get rich on it. accor ling to their ideas
of wealth. They live almost entirely
upon tortilIas. thin cake made from
Indian corn and baked on hot plate,
with fruit and vegetables. Meat they
eat of very sparingly, but they all drink
coffee and chocolate, while the National
drink, the stimulant of Mexico, among
the laboring classes, in pulque. This
beverage is obta:nel from the maguey
plant. which is kind of cactus. 1t
comes to maturity in about ght or ten
years, and Just before it is about to
blossom it is tapped at the bottom,
where there has accumulated a white
liquor, which. when fresh, is sweet
like honey, but by adding little pulque
to it and putting it in hogskin bag it
&C ,uires o most horrible smell, much
like limburger cheese, only worse, but
has taste like delicious fresh butter
milk. The drink is sold all over Mexi
co at one cent glass. 1t takes the
place of lager beer among the poorer
people. from this same maguey plant
is also obtained q liquor called mescalle,
which resembles p re sprng water in
color, but which tastes exactly like good
old Scotch whisky. Physicians tell ME
that pulque is very heslthful, especially
for weak digestions, rs it contains pure
la tic acid, and that one pecu.iarity
about both pulque and mescalle is that
although the latter contains forty-five
per cent. and the former thirty per
cent. of pure alcohol, neither has been
known to cause n single case OF delirium
tremens.
The Mexican laboring people rarely
sleep in beds. They roll themselves up
in their sarapas mats, which are also
obtained from the maguey plant. and
sleep the sleep of the just. The clothes
they wear are usually e gifts or cast
off garments of their employers. An
other noticeable point is that all thee
poor people are invariably pious and
apparently contented. Indeed. 1 find
that the poorer they are. and the lower
in the social scale, the more p Gus and
contented they are sure to be. As
class they are more honest, obliging and
supplemented folk. Each wears sus-
pended around his or her neck pre-
cious charm. blessed by the priest,
which keeps away evil spirits. When
annoyances arise or dangers threaten,
the words '.BO ga me Dios!" ("Protect
ME, . God ny rise to their Ups as natu-
rally as sparks fly upward. With un-
questioning faith and that contented
poverty which aspires to no higher lot,
they are sustained and comforted
through laborious lives, and die in
peaceful trust and resignation.-Mer
Cor. N. Y. EUening Post.