Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-08-05
The Sarane.


no resemblance to q coat. having
neither collar nor sleeves nor pockets
nor buttons nor even seams. Rather it
is like a shawl or blanket, being
woven in one piece, of wool or of cot
ton and wool mixed, six to eight feet
in length by three or four in width.
The manufacture of serapes employs
a large number of workmen in the city
OF Aguascalientes. SO named from the
hot springs, which have been famed for
their healing virtues from ancient
times, as shown by the antique stone
tanks and lighthouses under the shade
OF aged trees. 1t was the privilege of
the writer to visit one of these factories
and witness the primitive operations of
cleaning, carding, spinning and dYeing
the wood, and weaving it in the clumsy
hand-looms. There is but little to re-
mind one of our factory system, where
the operative seems to be part of
huge machine which is exact, swift and
almost terrible in its power and energy.
For here is leisure, quiet and individu-
alism. The workman sits at his heavy
wooden loom, moved by the feet, and
weaves the sarape as suits his fancy,
without pattern, choosing from the
shuttles of red, blue, yellow, green,
black, brown, purple and white yarn as
often as, and in the order, he pleases.
The result is variety of colors always
noticeable, often very pleasing, and
sometimes exquisitely beautiful in their
combination. Probably no two sarapes
are ever made exactly alike, although
dozens of them may DO procured that
have a general resemblance among
themselves.
The uses of the sarape are various.
although its chief office is that OF an
oyercoat or warm wrap for man, the
ends being flung over the shoulders in
so ingenious way as TO secure the gar
ment in its place. and at the same time
allow it to hang in graceful folds about
the person. 1t is often thrown up
against the face and enwraps the arms,
and thus in the cool, rarefied air of the
morning at that altitude, furnishes
warm muller and gloves as well as over
coat. Occasionally may be seen two
poor men walking along the street
wrapped in the same sarape, neither of
them, perhaps, having more than a
shirt upon their shoulders, and both of
them finding such close partnership
very agreeable.
In the market-place the sarape may
be snatched from the shoulders and
held as sack to receive the measure of
corn or beans purchased for the family
use.
The milkmen make of it feeding
trough for their batrr0S before leaving
the city for the ranch, the sarape being
spread upon the pavement or the
ground, and the corn poured into it, to
avoid losing any of the precious grains.
A porter, engaged to carry home
your parcels, will sometimes make
them into one bundle by wrapping all
in his sarape, or folding up the latter,
will make of it cushion to ease his
head or shoulders, when he carries he
carries heavy box on them.
At night the very poor man may not
be able to do better than to wrap him.
self in his sarape and lie upon mat,
or even upon the ground. And if he is
very hard pushed, he may pawn the
garment in one of the many shops, TO
raise little money, at ruirous rate
of interest, and SO sleep without an
apology for a bed. The sarape is put
to use by foreign residents as table
spread, rug, curtain or lap-robe. A
number of those of similar style, sewed
together. make pretty carpet. But
visitors 10 Mexico find it difficult to
bring back with them as many as they
desire, because the United States gov
eminent levieS tduty" of forty per
cent. dd Ualorem and thirty-fve cents
per pound on these articles, and the
custom-house officials have recently be-
come more vigorous in enforcing the
law ON travellers.
The sarape is made of coarse material
and scant dimensions that the poor man
may buy one, and it is furnished of fine
quality and generous size for twenty
five or thirty dollars. 1t is not worn as
a wrap by the upper classes, who in
their dress follow European fashions;
yet even the gentlemen when going to
ride in the alameda in the afternoon,
will often don the dress of o cdbdlIero
of the old school, and strap bright
colored sarape behind his silver-mount-
ed saddle.
Sarapes are made, also, of very
small size for boys. and in Mexico city
they may be obtained scarcely larger
than ones hand. yet perfect examples
in miniature of the many-colored
Mexican garment
JAMES ID. EATON,
Chihuahua, Mexico.