The midland journal., 1886-06-04

tax on strength goes on-the body
wrenching business of operating a
pump and lifting the filed water
bucket. Much of the difficulty
could be obvieted, where dwellings
are high and there is expanse of roof
to fill caves, if a tank were construct
cd sufficiently high fed by the eayes
and led into the kitchen by pipe
The rain tank is usually put below
the ground and called cistern. and
the water has to be pumped. The
elevated tank would be beset with
some dilliculties-p particularly in
winter where billiards prevail-but
| do not see, with intelligent manage
ment, why it could not be made
very efficient and satisfactory ad-
unct Of the kitchen. 1t sometimes
happens that farm houses are so sit
uated that water could be brought
from an adjacent hill, and, of course
in the good time coming, electrical
power will be SO we'll understood and
so cheap, that every thing done for
US by the touch Of spring, and
windmills and steam engines that
now vex our souls by their "cranks"
will vex us no more; and if we all
were TO live thousand years, patti
ence to wait would be no great virtue.
One day lady said to me, ''How
do you eat tomales?" pronounced
to-mal-es.) l stared at her in ignor-
ance and replied II don't eats them
what are they?' "a Mexican dish
three for 25 cents. Shall 1 end the
man around to you?" So it came
about that one evening about seven
| Eo'clock, there was a ring at the door
and there appeared handsome black
eyed young man, with a wooden pail
in his hand, which contained coarse
brown wrapping paper in confused
condition. heard him say "Toma-
les!" and 1 sang out from the parlor
where l was reading ''Yes! this is the
place. Come in herev' Then he be.
gan to tumble around in the bucket,
and presently fished out from the sea
of paper, three packages tied up in
corn husks, still warm, like a cooled
off poultice. A volley of questions
followed, and he informed me that
tomales were made in San Francisco,
by Mexican women, and were distrib-
uted, piping hot, both in that city
and Oakland. They could be reheat-
ed best by steaming them. l quick
ly cut from one the husk strings,
one at each end and one in the mid
die, The "thing" was about six
inches long and as large around as
an unhusked ear of corn-and took
off a husk, very wide one l thought
and it measured l inches in width.
The Eusks are all parboiled explain.
ed the man. Then on the next husk
1 discovered something that looked
like husk also, and'I said that is
husk too, and goes into the fire."
"No madame, this is the beginning
of the tomale" was spread on the
husk like plaster. "And what is it
made of?'' "Of lard and corn meal
cooked together''-so 1 proceeded
taking off husk after husk with it's
layer of lard and meal, meantime 1
asked what was inside? "Oh, inside
there are olives and raisins and Chill
pepper and chicken MICE" "Mice!"
"Mince do you call it? Mince of
chicken-sometimes Of pork. This
is chicken!' Finally the inside wad
was reached-minced chicken meat
mixed with the ingredients he had
named-and the mercy only knows
what else. began at once to eat,
the 'laddie" looking on and wanting
some-but refused because it was TOO
near his bed hour-and l had strong
suspicious that it was mixture
to give hyena indigestion.
Anaximander declined with thanks
SO that two tomales were laid away
to be steamed hot for breakfast. Up
on the whole / rather liked it-or
thought l might with practice be-
come fond of tomale. The young
man said he was a Spa1iard from
Spain-not a Meyican-and told us
how many chickens were daily used
at the tomale factory; that the
French and Germans did not care
for them, and that Mexicans and
Americans formed the chief patrons.
He stood by, until / had swallowed