Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-12-08

Sucn an odQ place as Is tnat ESparZa-
''The Holy Spirit of Hope,"-wherein we
passed our last night IN this Republicl AS
we came rattling into the town in the early
evening the diligencia and all it contained
were greeted by surprising chorus of
yelping ours, and yociferous gamins, while
the populace rushed forth with eager Curl
osity to see the arrivals. From many open
doors came the tinkling of guitars and the
pattering of fandangoes and zapeteros,
while women, old and young, sitting on
the steps in the moonlight smoking cigar
illos, unreservedly calculated in our hear
ing their surprised suspicious as to the
business among them of las Ame1canas.
The main features of Esparza are
capacious church, topped with belfry
which looks like water tank set up on
stills; a broad, dreary and treeless space
in the center of the town dignifed by the
name of plaza low, white-washed casas,
which looked like the corpses of so many
houses IN the sickly smiles of the moon
and big meson, or posada. We drove di-
rectly up to this apology for an inn, at
whose gateway was already collected
great crowd of carreteros, and their coffee
carts, horses, dogs, mules, and oxen. Its
door was the only one we had yet seen
closed in Esparza, and the driver pounded
upon 1t with a stone, shouting: ".46ra la
puertd; son.as amigos, Senor"-("Open the
door; We are your friends, sir.")
N cOl1rSe of f,raa br1t NOT x,arxy
a sleepy-looking and ill-favored individual,
who paid no manner of attention to his
ewly-arrived friends" not so much as
glancing at them, opened the great door
Just long enough for us to hurry through !:
then re-barred it, and retired as leisurely
as he came, leaving us to our own devices.
Looking about by the pale glimmer of
the moon and paler tailow dip, we were
struck by the marvellous similarity between
this posddd in the western world, toward
the close of the nineteenth century, and
that on the other side of the globe, in
which Joseph and Mary were sheltered on
the night when Christ was born, according
to the minute description thereof given by
General Wallace in " Ben Hur." A better
idea of the mes0nS and posaddS of to-day, as
they exist in many parts of Mexico and
Central America cannot be gained than by
reading that book. As they are distinctive
features of Spanish America, and whoever
travels here must necessarily have much to
do with them, let us take a survey of this
typical one of Esparza.
In outward appearance they are all
-ahke-a large corral or yard entered by a
huge gateway with wooden doors and sur
rounded by high, thick walls of adobe,
which are divided all around the inside
into a series of square rooms. These
apartments are all windowless and entirely
destitute of furniture, the door of each
opening into the corral In one corner of
the empty room is generally platform of
stone or adobe about two feet high, which
serves the triple purpose of bed, table and
sofa, and with 1t you must content yourself,
for in most rooms neither love nor money
can secure you any more. Sometimes an
urgent demand may obtain for you a deal
table, bench or cot bedstead; but that
posada would be swell" indeed. and
scarcely to be found in Central America
which could supply such unheard of luxu-
ries as chair or washstand. Do you sup
pose Joseph and Mary had washstands
and rocking chairs? Then why be un-
reasonable? Do as in Rome when among
the Romans, i. e., spread your wrap upon
the plaster floor and sit upon it, and if
yon must wash, go out to the big stone
trough where the cattle drink and where
their attendants indulge in infrequent alb
lutions, and afterward stand in the sun to
dry. Travellers are expected to carry their
own bedding, as well as cooking utensils,
and one soon learns to get along with
very small quantity of either. But what
ever you omit in this vermin-infested
country, be sure to keep well supplied
with hellebore, or some other effective bug
poison, and before spreading your blankets
for the nights repose, literally dust all
adjacent objects
In the corner of the corral is the public
kitchen, in which you oryour servants are
at liberty to cook supplies of your own
furnishing, over charcoal bought from the
mesonero, and opening out of the kitchen is
the stable. The arrival Of a wearied party
at the gate Of meson is not greeted by
such effusiye cordiality as the wayfarer
generally receives from the urbane propri-
etor, diamond-bedecked clerk and obsequi-
Gus porter of the average American hotel
If the gate be open you ride in as matter
of course, and dismounting within the
walls, proceed to take possession of what
ever vacant rooms you can find, unpack
and stow away your baggage, taking care
to keep everything stealable, even to the
saddles and harness, in the apartments you
have chosen. If by this time the mesonero
(landlord) has not put in an appearance it
will be well to look him up. Thereupon
your noza (servant) shouts for him until
he comes forth, bringing the key of the
granary.
Still taking no notice of the guests who
by this time have established themselves
as well as circumstances will permit, and
without waiting for any kind of orders or
bargaining, the landlord proceeds to weigh
out the straw, oats and corn, all of which
should be carefully watched by your moza
After the animals are consigned to stalls
and fed, your servant is at liberty to for
age for himself and his employer. If you
do not wish to be bothered with cooking
in most cases the landlord can be induced
to furnish you with meal. But he will
always first protest that there is nothing
In the house, that this is poor country
and he does not care to furnish food for
travellers, but after good humor has been
established by proffering sundry redles
(shillings) in advance, he suddenly remem-
bers that there may be chicken or two
and some beans, tortillas and coffee about
the premises.
The same shelf that later answers for a
bed serves you for table, unless by virtue
of another transfer of the circulating me-
dunn the landlord can be persuaded to
furnish table. The chances are that lie
has not such thing in the house; but,
wishing to earn the money and proving
himself obliging, he will spend so much
time in skurrying around among the
neighbors in search of one that the dinner
will grow cold, and probably no table al
last be forthcoming. The wiser way is tc
content yourself with the situation: tC
spread your own towels or a newspaper or
the suspiciously bespeckled shell, and keer
sharp lookout for migratory vermin. The
horses are sure of good care and plenty tC
cat but every article which their owner