The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-05-15
AN AZTEC HOMILY.
LBill We. in Boston Globe. l

cate lne lTdil Ol tHt OTIRlndl lHHdDllduV of this country. It has been pleasure and yet a kind of sad pleasure, to exam inc the crumbling ruins of what was once regarded, no doubt, as the very triumph of aboriginal taste and mechan- ical ingenuity.
 can take but cursory glance at these ear-marks of forgotten age, for a short treatise like this cannot embrace minute details, of course.
 We are told by the historian that there were, originally, two distinct classes of Indians occupying the territory now embraced by the United States, viz the village Indians, or horticultural ln- dians, and the extremely rural Indians or non-horticultural variety.
 The village Indians, or horticulturists, suhsistcd upon fruits and grain, ground in crude way, while the non-horticul- tursts lived on wild game, berries, acorns and pilgrims
 Of the latter class few traces remain. excepting rude arrow-heads and coarse stone weapons These articles show very little skill as rule, the only ndi- cation of brains that l eyer discovered being on a large stone hammer Or Mo hawk swattcr and they were not the brains of the man who made it, either,
 The village Indians, however, were architects from away up the gulch.
 They constructed number of archi- tectural works of great beauty, several of which l have visited They were once, no doubt, regarded as very desir- able residences but now alas, they have fallen into innocuous desuetude-at least that is what it looked like to me, and the odor reminded me of innocuous desuetude in bad state of preservation
 In New Mexico, over 300 years ago, there were built number of pueblos or villages which stand up, ina measure, though some of them are in recum- bent position. These pueblos or viii lages are formed of three or four build lngs, constructed in the retrousSe style of architecture, and made of adobe bricks. These bricks are generally of a beautiful, soft, black and tan color and at distance look like the first loaf of bread baked by young lady who has been reared in luxury but whose father has been suddenly called away to Can ada The adobe brick is said to be so indigestble, in fact, that am confident the day is not far distant when it will be found on every hotel bill of fare in our broad, sin-cursed land.
 One of these dwellings was generally about POO feet long, with no stairways in the interior, but movable ladders on the outside instead This manner of reach ing the upper floor had its advantages, and yet it was not always convenient One feature in its favor was the isolation which man could pull around himself by going in at the second-story window and pulling the ladder up after him, as there was no entrance to the house on the ground floor If man really courted retirement, and wanted to write a humorous lecture or g homily, he could insert himself through the second story window, pull in the staircase and go to, work. Then no one could disturb him without bribing hook and ladder company to come along and let him in
 But the great drawback was the an noyance incident to ascending these ladders at late hour in the night, while under the influence of Aztec rum, a very seductive, yet violently intoxicat- ing beverage, containing about eight parts cheer to ninetytwo parts inebriate.
 These residences were hardly gothic in style being extremely rectangular, with a tendency toward the more mod ern drygoods box It is believed by abler men than l am men who could be lieve more in two minutes than could believe in a lifetime, if had nothing else to do, that those houses contained about thirty-eight apartments on the first floor, and nineteen on the second, These apartments were separated by sonic kind ofcheap and transitory parti- tion, which could not stand the climatic changes, and so has gone to decay; but these Indians were determined to have their rooms separated in some way, for they were very polite and decorous to fault No Aztec gentleman would emerge from his room until he had com pleted his toilet, if it cost him his posi- tion.
 once heard of an Aztec who lived away down in old Mexico somewhere several centuries ago and who was the pink of politeness. He wore full-dress winter and summer, the whole year round, and studied large work on et- quette every evening. At night he would undress himself by unlocking the German silver ring from his nose and hanging it on the back of chair.
 One night young man from the cap ital named Ozone, or something like that, relative of the Montezumas. came over to stay week or two with this Aztec dude. As good joke, he slipped in and nipped the nose-ring of fr,A tN l.> I f violate the propreties as to appear at breakfast time without it.
 Morning came, and the dude awoke to find the bright rays of a rich Mexican sun streaming in through his easement He rose, and, bathing himself in gourd, he looked on the back of the chair for his clothing, but it was not there. A cold precipitation broke out all over him. He called for assistance, but no one came. He called again and apain louder and still mora loud hnt