Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-05-19
But the terrible thing in this Aztec town.
That will blow mems rest into stormiest skies.
Or whether they journey. or lie they down
These wide and these wonderful Spanish eyesi

SnoW-Wnlte, ike ghosts
Gate posts to this Paradise
But, oh turn back from the high-walled
There is trouble enough in this world, sur
mise,
Without men riding in regiments down
To die by those perilous Spanish eyes1
When the music struck up, each cabal-
lero waltzed UP to the lady of his choice,
and without so much as saying "by your
leave" lifted her up and waltzed away
with her. This is considered the proper
thing to do, the balls being very select
for are not people there on purpose to
dance, and is not every body acquainted
with everybody else?
Waiting here is not that mad whiri
which stirs the blood and brings roses to
the coolest cheek, but it is slow and
gentle movement, inducing a sort of
dreamy languor. The music, too, instead
of bursting out with deafening crash, steals
softly on the ear, though every note is dis
tinctly heard. As the feet of the dancers
fell to the gentle cadence, it seemed as if
the Imagination only was touched by the
sound and every face wore look of pure
and refined enjoyment, derived from senti-
ment, rather than excited animal spirits.
Even the quadrilles and gallopades were
slow and dreamy, so that nobody had
reason to become a "dem'd, damp, moist
unpleasant body" from perspiration,
though dancing so near the equator.
At the Mestiza ball the girls were
dressed in their becoming costumes
of snowy white, some of them
fairly glittering with golden brace
lets, chains and other ornaments.
Among the men there was no prescribed
style of dress. Most of them wore their
linen fiuttering outside in the eYolutions
of "the may few of the more aristo-
cratic even sported coats or jackets, and
all wore their hats.
The Indian musicians were airily clad,
only in shirts and drawers of white cot
ton, and retained their high-crowned straw
sombreros throughout the evening. But
they played with perfect time and tune,
as sweetly as if all were graduates Of the
first musical college in the country. Ma
tural musicians are the children of the
sun. who twang the guitar and mandolin
as perfectly as they dance, and do both
from the cradle. One of the dances was
the tcro, or bull-dance; another the sopaate,
or turkey-buzzard dance, in which a man
and woman take the floor, each with a
handkerchief, and go through with an
astonishing performance.
The Indian ball was most interesting.
for dance was going on, supposed to rep
resent that of the aborigines. To under
stand it, one must remember that the early
people of Yucatan, the ancestors of the
Yucatacos of to-day, were sun-worshipers.
First the Indians spread banner in the
center of the room, on which was painted
figure of the sun with two personsskneel-
ing before it in alteration. A tall, tan
colored fellow, who appeared to be master
of ceremonies, then suspended from his
neck round breast-plate of tin, on which
was painted big red sun with golden
rays. At the foot of the banner-staff
squatted an old man with drum made by
stretching the skin of calf over hol-
low log. Beside the drum hung the she'll
of land-tortoise, and the old man beat
the drum and ratified the shell with all
his might. His drum-stick was the horn
of deer, and, with hollow drum and the
turtle-shell, verified the account of an
ancient chronicler. who wrote of the abo-
riginal music of Yucatan away back in
the fifteenth century," They beat their
Oiuui Will ueer > uOrIS, anu DaU turtles
shells and flutes and large sea-shells for
trumpets."
After the banner was spread the band
ran around it in a crouching attitude.
Each held rattle in one hand, and in the
other fan of turkey feathers. whose ham
die was the claw of bird Each wore a
wire mask, with handkerchief over his
head, and a mantle hung with small sea-
shells and embroidered with figures of
animals. The costume was that of the
Mestiza women-a skirt from neck to
knees-just such as was worn by their
ancestors centuries ago, and similar to that
of the ancient Egyptians. Sandals were
tied to their feet with hempen rope. The
leaders was distinguished by high crown
of peacock feathers He chanted some
thing in Maya, to which the Others replied;
and then the music struck up in wierd
strata and they danced flriousIy, shaking
their fans and rattles, and all keeping per-
feet time, meanwhile gazing upon the sun
with looks of alteration. This was
dance of sorrow and supplication; aud
after 1t was over came the Indian fandango
"a dance of JOY, at which they were still
pegging away when the sun arose.
FANNIE B. WARD.