The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-01-17
THE 4 roMALE" OR "TAMALE."
rPeek,s Sun.l

brought aOOuR " nA.-@toh ot an ;teu, in the Sms of Dec. 2osh, here~ith reproduced. The writer of the item. strange to say, after looking in Websters dictionary, never once thought of waiting nntii the advice on any question eoitor returned. 1t is just as well, though, as the information contained in the letters will be acceptable to many northern readers.
 HThe word 'tomale' appears quite freouently in the papers of the Pacific Slope. and we have been asked what 1t ;s For once Webster fa,led to help us out of a difficulty, and an appeal Is hereby made to some of the Argonauts of that glorious climate to shed hght on it. If it is good to eat, send along barrel or any reasonable quantity, all charges prepaid.
 AUSTIN, Texas Dec. 3. 1884
 DEAR FRIEND :-Q call you friend, be. cause so consider all literary men,)-l saw in your last paper, of which have been a reader for many years, that a word mad dehed all your attempts to find by whom and whence it came, and what it means. You called the word tomale." ]" 1 can enlighten you, and give to your part of the world revelation!
 The word should be spelled '' tamale," and is pronounced tamahlee." It is a food, and 1 hereby send you few sam pies, which you can try by putting them in steamer over hot water. "shuck ]" and all, so as to warm them. Ordinarily, the tamale does not need artificial heat to make them warm enough for the most exacting mouth-but they taste better Down here in Texas where we live, "nexs door to Mexico," we are very fond of the tamale, which is second cousin to the very popular bread dish of the Aztecs, the tortillos (pronouncedD "torteyos."
 As to the origin of the tamale, no one knows. It is shrouded in that veil of mystery that is drawn between the world and the builders of the buried cities in the land of the Montezumas. They are of ancient origin, and fine taste. Some. people profess to think that they were invented by the fersile-minded Aztecs so to ind way to use the Pelon- dog, the little naked dog of Mexico. Others claim to think that the tamale presents all that is mortal of the missing family cat and the defunct yard dog. rejected all these
  because l like the tamale, and do not wish to believe such things about it.
 l must confess, however, that when visited tamale factory in San Antonio the other day came very near "going back on" the tamaIe forever. saw an old Mexican woman and six children of the setting sun, all reeking with filth ranged round huge tub beside which was board containing some beef and pork boiled till it was in pulp, and near by was large convex stone to which was fitted huge pestle. This old woman and her tribe were all busily engaged in mixing something, which was told was tamales. They would reach over and take 8 "shuck" (com husk) out of a bucket of hot water, then take a pat of something that looked like paste out of the hollowed stone, and spread it on the shuck, and then put their hands in the tub and take little meat out and put it in the paste, and then roll the whole of it up, making the shuck the outer wrapper. After this IS done, which they do with remarkable rapidity, the tamales are put in tin bucket, which in turn is put into a bucket containing hot water under which is small furnace. This serves to keep them hot, and they are ready for the "old man" to take out on the streets and sell, as he yells "Tamales !" They are sold at about half a cent a piece.
 If you wish to make tamales, go to the market and get some pieces of beef and pork-scraps of bones will do. Take these home and boil them until they come all to pieces, as the ladies say When nearly done, put in enough red pepper to make it as hot as you can bear it. Then, have some corn boiled whole, and as soft as it will boil. Put the corn in mortar ard crush it to a pulp, or paste. Have some corn husks previously trimmed, and split to the width of about two or three inches, and put in the in- gradients as described above in the case of the Mexican woman and her children. l should have remarked that all Mexican women whom l saw at work on the tamales were as dirty as only Mexicans can be. You need not follow her in this if you do not wish to, though have my suspicion that to this regular condition of the pure Aztec tamale maker the tamale owes that peculiar flavor it always has. It is great food. hope you will eat it, as it will be found to be fine stomach quieter and an incompatible appetizer. doubt whether any one but the Mexican can make them as good as the sample send you the real secret of the thing seems shrouded in as much mystery as is the reason why Mexicans in their own land, as well as in San Anto- nio, where water flows pure as crystal through the streets, know no other use for it than to drink when they can get nothing else to drink-they never wash. If you need any more light on the sub. ject, let me know. My mind is now illuminated with three-ply, six-story- with-two-elevators attached electric lamp of information, and am yearning to shed its efulgence on all who are sitting in the shadow of the great {" I want to know" Yours in true faith,
 IKE PHILKINS.
 MILWAUKEE, Dec. P, 1884.
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