, 1885-09-08
oalaklna N nsxco
Tie national beverage HAD Wine Tho
American Bar-isoom- Itiotous Gringa.

Tie National neVera.e Had Wine Tho
American Bar-Room Itiotous Gringo.
M-xleo Cor Bo~fon- Herald
\ great deal is said about the danger
of drinking the water which comes in
from tho hills through the great aque
ducts. But this is an over exaggerated
matter. indeed, an esteemed friend.
the scientist and engineer, Mr.. Francisco
Garay, who is famous here as an author
ity on all sanitary questions, tells me
that he always uses the aquednct water
on his table. believing Il to lie very
healthful, and | have found that, despite
the warnings of the doctors, those who
drink water are as healthy as those who
contine Themselves to beer and wine. A
stranger on first arriving should be care.
full Of Ia ing tho water pure: a little
claret or brandy makes II safer for the
ne w.cOmcr.
Iullue, the national drink of the
lower classes, and found also on the
tables Of the well-to-do, is a safe and
nutritious beverage. noticed awhile
ago that some recent writer on Mexico
spO o OF the ''disagreeable and repul-
siye look of pull ne. That is nonsense
The beverage looks exactly like milk.
Its taste is, at first, unpleasant for
many people, although personally did
not find 1t so, and it certainly is a drink
appropriate to the climate and the alti-
tude. II is a neryine. and, at this alti-
tude, tho tendency is to nervous dis
eases. 1t is quieting, sleep-procuring,
and f%attening. Introduced into the
nited States, it ought to have a great
sale among nervous and dyspeptic
persons A man can digest a good
many difficult things, if he takes
pulque with his meals. | CON
fidently anticipate that, in the near
future, puique will be an article OF eX-
tensive export to the United States. 1t
has already attracted tho attention Of
ing ish physicians on account of its
neryine properties.
But it must DO confessed that pulque
is a mild intoxicant. If you drink
enough of it you become mildly ex-
hilarated and prone to sleep. After a
peon has taken about a gallon he wants
to embrace all the world as long-los.
brethren. He is, in some stages Of III
~toxication, anxious to settle his little
personal difficulties with his ever-ready
knife. The paternal government wisely
regulates that the pulluerias shall shut
up shop at o p. m, an earlier closing
law than Massachusetts, has yet dared
to apply to her bar rooms. And in this
country Of sharp enforcement Of the law
the pulquerias do shut up in fact MS
well rs in theory.
The wine sold here is, as a rule,
very bad. The French claret / have
found to be generally beastly stuff,
headache provoking and %undeniably
drugged. The French will be driven
out of this very good wine market if
they don't reform. There is already
established here a very good market for
the excellent wines Of California. If
the Californians were as liberal in their
trade arrangements as are the French
exporters, they would gain ground
more rapidly here. The California
claret sold here is a strong wine. but
with the unmistakable flavor OF the
grape. 1t is already in high favor, and
is 10 be found on the tables OF the lux
urious classes.
The American bar-room has become a
fixed institution here, and some Of the
bars are quite respectable and conven-
tionally gorgeous. The bars run in
connection with the big billiard halls
are prosperous concerns. Billiards is a
perfect passion with young Mexicans,
as II is with all Spanish Americans. I
notice that the tendency here is to light
drinks, but | have seen very few people
intoxicated. Once in a while a newly
arrived American gets drunk after
nightfall, and takes up a good share of
the sidewalk, metaphorically exalting
the American eagle and floating the
stars and stripes. At that particular
hour of his life the set-uf American is
ready TO conquer Mexico himself and
unaided. When he gets too riotous a
gentleman o%verhauls him and tows him
to the city prison to give account of
himself the next morning. That mar
is ever after the enemy Of all M~exicans,
and has a profund contempt for Next
can law.