Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-07-24

rounded by several square rooms, the latter
being entirely destitute Of furniture. In
one corner of each bare apartment is gen
orally platform of stone or adobe eleya
ted about three feet from the floor. which
answers the triple purpose of table, sofa
and bedstead. OF course the floor has no
carpet, and is sometimes tiled with brick
or plastered with cement, though often it
is only the earth which has become hard
as stone from long usage. No bedding of
any description is provided, and before
spreading your own blankets upon the
adobe shelf it will be well to first dust il
and the surrounding walls with generous
quantity of hea-powders, without which
blessing none should travel in this bug
infested country. Sometimes small deal
table is furnished, if demanded, or an iron
framed bedstead-if the house possesses
such articles of luxury; but that would be
a very swell" qacS0n indeed which
could accommodate you with a chair
or wash-bowl. The native guests twbo are
usually mule-drivers or cattle-tenders) are
accustomed to squating upon the floor,
and their infrequent additions are con-
tentedly performed at the plaza fountain or
in the great stone trough where the cattle
drink. In one corner of the corral is the
C0oi1ld or kitchen-but seldom is anything
cooked there-and in an adjoining inclos-
ure is the stable, with d well in It's center
Upon the arrival of a party at the mcs0R,
no obsequious servant, or bediamonea clerk,
or urbane proprietor comes forth to greet
you; but, quite as a matter of course, the
travellers dsmount inside the corral and
proceed to take possession of whatever
vacant rooms they can discover. The
mules are unpacked, the baggage secured
in the apartments appropriated by the
10 OkN - Il -,
that to be occupied by the servants. If by
this time the aieSonero, or landlord, does not
put in an appearance, the mozos shout
Tor him, till he lazily comes forth, armed
with the key of the granary where the
corn and straw are kept. Taking no notice
of the guests who have already established
themselves in bis domicile, and without
waiting for either orders or explanation, he
serves out the stray and barley, or corn, as
the case may be-the weighing of which is
done by himself and carefully watched by
the mozos. Then the mules and horses
are consigned to the stable and fed, after
which the servants are at liberty to forage
for themselves and their masters. The
following dialogue, or something similar 10
it, invariably takes place:
Mozo-Auligo que hay conner p" Friend,
| what is there TO eat?"
Mesonero-Ah, senior. a q1r no hay ndG1-
All, sir. there is nothing here"
Moz0- Vdlg1me Dos ! Pue pals is este =
God protect me Whata country is this"
Mesonero-" Yes, it is true; it is poor
country"
Mozo-" But what are we to do2 The
ladies and gentlemen are dying of hunger ?"
MesonerO-" Well if their worships like
it, they can have chicken, frijoles, chill
and tortillas."
Mozo-" Baeno Bueao, (eood) my friendl
And let there be enough for US all. Then
who knows (Quier SGbG) how much corn
those horses can eat! Eth, mi amigo, with
knowing wink they eat great deal, and
you shall lose nothing"
PROVISIONS AT LAST.
In due course Of time, but never under
an hour or two, the chicken and beans and
red-peppers and unleavened corncakes are
brought in, and are served upon the shelf
that later answers for bed-unless by per-
suasion, accompanied with a judicious
amount of the circulating medium" the
asesonero can be induced to furnish table.
The chances are that he has not such an
article in the house but, wishing to earn
the money as well as to be accommodating.
he will go skurrying around among his
neighbors in search of one. Meantime,
the dinner will grow cold, and probably
no table will be forthcoming at last:
so it is wiser TO make the best Of
the situation. to spread your own
towels upon the suspiciouslv- bespeckled
shelf, and to keep sharp lookout for mi
gratory vermin. The animals are sure of
good care and plenty TO eat; but every
comfort their owners obtain must be strug-
gled for, as well as paid tor at the highest
local prices. Knives, forks and spoons are
l..
BILE; therefore if you cannot feed yourself
as the rancher0s do with tortilla scoop,
eating scoop and all at once) you must
bring along your own conveniences. AT
the first glimmer of dawning the Dteso1cro
reappears with small mugs of coffee or
chocolate, and little loaves of sweetened
bread, and at the same time presents his
bill.
THE SCORE
Is always absurdly long, and though the
total is not exorbitant according to our
ideas, you may be sure that he has cheated
you according to his. in the matter of
details and overweight of grain. If you
have been so unreasonable as to insist upon
being supplied with a table or chair, it is
charged for at nearly the value of the arti-
Gle. Have you been so luxurious as to dis
dain a public bath at the plaza fountain or
bowl which was provided to crafty your
curious whim for private washing is put
down in the account for as much as
the article was worth in its palmiest days
Towels and soap, of course, you must bring,
or dispense with altogether. Though the
amount of the bill is not unreasonable,
you feel inclined to rebel a. the manner of
it rather than its magnitude-snce perhaps
the inch or two of candle which lighted
you to bed has cost as much as your sup
perl When we leave the meson its pro-
prietor is sure to shake hands with us, one
and all, and TO remark with fervid friend
ship, "Adios, An,igos, q buena fortuna" e. To
God | commend you, friends. and may
good fortune attend you.h) The stumpy
little Mexican-in a greasy zarape and
huge sombrero which he never removes
who presides over the Meson de Acampo,
paid fiattering but
LAUGHABLE COMPLIMENT
To my imperfect Spanish. which is still the
standing joke of our party. After | had
wrestled vehemently with his villainous
language for half an hour, in vain efforts to
procure few additional comforts for our
bare room, he continued to stare at me,
with no other reply than to mutter sosto
voce . Valgame Dios Dire Maria PttriSsimal
Que guerra, quera habld como nostrosi
{. How white, how white is this woman
vet she talks as we doF') The word
guera Tor g,sero, masculine,) signifies about
what we mean by " blonde" and is applied
by this dark skinned race to all whose eyes
are not black as sloes and whose skins are
not the hue of we'll tanned leather.
The citizens of Ario. as everywhere in
this country. are exceedingly polite to
strangers. Travellers may easily receive
letters of recommendation from one village
10 another, and thus avoid the mesoras alto
gether, for there is scarcely private house
in Mexico where entertainment will not be
offered and comfortable beds and breakfast
provided for all who come to its door thus