Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-10-03
IN A HACIENDA.
AN IMMENSE STRUCTURE OF STONE
 OR PLAsTEREo ADOBE.
Interior of the Fort-Liks Houses-The Private s~netuary-Fsw Books or Sswspapers-A visi,o< Hailed s-
 a Boon from Heaven.
rF.nnI. B. wara,. M.r.co Letter.

lt anne D. Wards Mertco Letter.
 All Mexican hAcIendas gre much alike ss to general features The main build ing is always an immense structure of stone. or of equally durable plastered sdObe-neither farm nor country house according to our ideas but with char acter peculiar 10 itself. It resembles a fort more than anything else to be found at the north. with bsstions and ramparts like the domain of baron of old. hs cor ner towers and loopholes for guns hay ing been built with an eye to revolutionary sieges and the frequent raids of ladroneS
 The wealthy proprietor seldom lives upon his estate, but gives 1t over to the care of an administrator. who in turn lets it to subadministrators. who each have their clerks and secretaries to superlntend the overseers, and so on down through the social gamut of the peons who super. intend" the pigs As may be imagined there Is not much thrift in this complex system. for when every ear of corn and gallon of pulque must pass through SO many hands it naturally follows that most of the profits are absorbed before those of the owner are reached
 Most of these fort-like houses have the appearance of barracks. being curtainless and carpetless. with brick floors. white washed inner walls. and nunberless empty rooms. scantily furnished with wooden benches. pine tables. and iron bedsteads, put up only when wanted while the adjacent kitchens. servants quarters, bakery, outhouses. enormous granaries. barns, and stables. and the out lying huts Of the peasentry form Q village within the ramparts.
 Every haciends. whether rich or poor, haa lie rhstreh pF toos nificence, which to the curiosity hunting tourist is a perfect treasure trove of charming ugliness. each private sanctuary possessing as many saints as the grand cathedral in the City of Mexico, while candles are constantly burning upon it's altar. and votive offerings of fruits and grains are piled around the holy family for 0 blessing upon the crops for the peOns are universally devotedly pious and SUI perstitious Co degree In those eXcep- tional instances where the millionaire owners live upon their estates. their i'm mediate families are sometimes numbered by scores. This Is partially due to the prevalence of an old Spanish custom, which virtually obliges gentlemen 10 pro vide for all their destitute female req tiyes and 10 shield them and their offspring from contact with the world
 Most of the lonesome haciendadOs have few hooks. never any daily mails CT frequent newspapers. and no manner of amusement except such as they can ere ate within themselves Their life Is like that of vOyagers zt sea, there being no es- cape from the ship till the harbor is gained-the principal difference being that the confinement of the hacienda com munity ends only at the Stygian river. Happily they are an exceedingly gentle. affectionate. and even tempered race. for & family quarrel in such situation would be nbearable-withOut even the advant- ages possessed by the ancient citizens of Tenochitilian. who built their early homes upon the floating gardens of the great salt lake, TeXcoco, and when the neigh borhood was not 10 their liking could paddle away with their entire estate
 IL is easy to understand that, in these circumstances, a visitor at the hacienda is hailed as 8 boon direct from heaven, and kept as long ss he or she can he prevailed upon 10 remain In former times there were few inns in Mexico. and now they are almost unknown outside the great cities; hence. persons travelling from place to place, with the retinue of armed at- tendants which personal safety requires, are obliged to depend upon the hospital fly of the haciendados for nightly stop ping places. So generally Is this ex. pected that the propristors always se. apart a generous sum in the provision for annual expenditures to be used by their administrators in the entertainment of chance guests. whether they be rich or poor. friends or strangers. Many are the delightful acquaintaneeships formed by these accidental meetings, and sometimes the halt-intended for e single night lengthens into weeks and paves the wa: for future returns for the sole purpose of visiting. The romances begun in this manner between wandering knights and imprisoned maidens are legion. and the end Is matrimony with the usual sequel They lived happily forever sfterward.