Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-04-08

near mere where It IS raised, and that
is ranch some eight leagues distant
which have been unable to reach as
yet. The quina, the Zantholvrton
Clara Herculis, whose bark is a power
full tonic; Hwra Crspitans, whose seed
is strong purgative; carnabis ;ndica
or Indian hemp, from which is pre-
pared the hasheesh. Euphoibia
pulcherrmia, Hoitzia coccinea the tonic
Gnaphalium canescens and many other
plants of valuable pharms ceutical
properties are found here.
AS for butterflies! l never
saw elsewhere such beauties. They
shine and gleam like Jewels
There is one variety whose wings.
having rim at their circumference.
| is perfectly transparent; and another,
called the Figure 8" from two large
characters like that numeral, outlined
| in black and white beneath the wings,
touched up with scarlet, while the up
per side is brilliant peacock blue.
Land shells too are aboundant my
hostess has collected hereabouts over a
hundred varieties, from those almost
microscopic to the giant Glandin9,
whose shells are larger than
a hens egg. There are enough
varieties of the feathered tribes,
too, to gladden. the heart of any collec-
tor. Here as elsewhere, the sougsters
are not remarkable for brilliance OF
color. The clarin, the gilguero and
the primapera, all fine singers, are
garbed in Quaker-like drab or brown,
like the mocking bird, which also is
common. All these birds are, how
lever, expensive, if one select good
specimens. Wild animals are not
abundant in the immediate vicinity
of Xalapa; lower down, nearer the
coast, fine pelts may be obtained.
of tigers" that is to say
ocelots, and of number
of animals whose names / do not
know in English, not being we'll up
in zoology, outside the genus homo.
Ny old friend the opossum lives in
the neighborhood. and does a thriving
business, to judge from the complaints
hear of his raids on the henroosts.
But l cannot persuade my Mexican
allies that his is flesh fit for the
stomachs OF Christians, although
they will swallow his tail-dried and
pulverized, be it understood, and
mixed with sherry--as a specific for
calenturas chills and fever. On the
other hand, they regard as delicacy
the armadillo, which l have been
used to regard as little indiscrimi.
nate in his diet. l mean to sample
the dainty myself, however for we
have commissioned Tio [uncle] Chepe
to bring some up from El Ranchito,
where they are commoner. and there
fore cheaper, large fellow selling
for 25c. The poems use armadillo
shells for holding corn and
other grain seed, and l have
seen some handsome workboxes and
handbags fashioned from this ma
terial. am the proud possessor OF a
mandolin, whose body is of the same
substance. Out in the corridor, in
view from where am writing, there
stands on bracket an animal
whose first cous n l mean to annex at
the first opportunity-an anti eater,
whose length Of slender tongue meas
ures some eighteen inches.
Apropos of this corridor, it is,
think, worth describing. It is in the
rear of the main rooms of the house,
and three great arches look down on
the court and garden, everflowing
with flowers, banana trees and coffee
plants, to which we descend by a
flight of stone stairs, easy of pitch
and shallow, closed to the horse, who
"dess Loves to climb stairs" by a
stone-weighted gate, which the two
spotted Danish dogs, ,Sultana and Apol-
| 10, are forever lodging. as they open
it with their noses. The corridor is
thirteen PAGES long, and half as many
wide; it is foored with square red brick
tiles, scrubbed so clean that "you
could eat OF them," and the rafters
overhead project and form wide caves,
which protect us from inroads by the
furious rainstorms that prevail here.
There is q great settee, full of cush-
ions, and q whole family Of easy
chairs, big and little; the great paint
ed gourd, which holds the cigarettes
and tobacco; a sewing machine, and
q writing-desk; for this is the favorite
lounging place of the family, and
OF visitors. We all live here, except
when bad cold spell drives us in
doors, growing. Then there are three
great cases, full of all sorts of curosi-
ties, from humming birds to ancient
Aztec idols. and on the walls beside
about "forty-'leven" cages full of cana
ries and other warblers, hang number
Of deep glazed frames, contain
ing some of the spoils of my
hostess, in the way of beetles, but
tertiies and land shells, for this
old Indian lady is a naturalist
of the first water, and one day when
my lungs do not ache and my hands
cramp from much writing, 1 mean to
relate bit OF her biography for the
entertainment of the readers of the
HERALD. Thus and therefore, hasta
II