, 1888-01-14
The MExIcANs, BAD GAIT.
An Observing American Traveller Says
They Do Not Know How to Walk.

An Observing American Traveller Says
They DO Not Know How to Walk.
l rise now and here to enter n COM
plant vigorously, and a source of grew
ance against the Mexican people. They
do not know how to walk. Whether
men or women, the same thing is true;
the natural grace and innate tact of the
fair sex go no further toward mitigating
the enormity of their p~erambulatory sins
han the greater experience and stronger
physique of their lords. In the interior,
in those sections which the press of the
United States would term 1.-THE rural dis
tricts, - this condition of affairs does not
obtain. There the people, the lower
orders, in particular, have n free, elastic
gait, which tells of strong, dependable
muscles in excellent training, and the
poise of head and body is something good
TO see. Even the courier, who rum all
day long at the same steady dog trot
pace, has an easy, u~nhampered move
ment. This is partly due TO general good
health, exercise, abundant fresh air and
constant training from youth, almost in
fancy; largely, also, to the custom of
bearing burdens upon the head, TO main
tain which in equilibrium necessarily in
sures n perfect balance.
80 NANN tAsA'aAh salAA AAAN " -
carry their burdens, as n general rule,
upon the head; and, while the weight
depends from the head by means of straps
or stays, its pressure on the shoulders
acts as leverage against undue strain, and
the constant effort to maintain equilib-
rum produces n rolling, ~wabbling gait,
~unlovely to behold. Higher up in the
social scale the same results ensue from
dissimilar causes. Walking il avoided as
much as possible, as being not only
fatiguing but also plebeian; moreover,
the old prejudice agaiEst women appear
ing on the street unaccompanied has not
entirely disappeared, and many arc thus
hindered by social convention from exer-
ions from which material considerations
would not deter them. 1t is no unusual
sight to see women, or men rs well, for
that matter, take the horse cars for n
distance of one or two blocks only. Then
again the question of footgear is an inn
portant factor, the buil1 of Mexican shoes
not being conducive to case, grace or
rapidity of movement. Women's shoes
are by no means CONNIE il faut unless
the have high and tiny heels, set far
underneath tho sole, and the shoeing of
both sexes is manufactured with the
narrow pointed toes whose pinching tor
lures not n few American toes hold in
unhappy remembrance. o.
The lower classes are free from this
handicap at least, being, oftener than
not, barefoot. Their feet, from continual
exposure and want of care, take on the
calloused, granny appearance of the feet
of birds. In the interior the masses wear
either g]uarachcs, which are rawhide san.
dols, or teguas, a species of soled, heel
less moccasin of soft leather, both of
which chaussurcs protect the feet, with
out particularly restraining or restricting
them. Another element of Inconvenience
is the narrow, uncomfortable sidewalks.
Mexican towns being laid out on the sys-
tenn Of the Spauiards, their banquettes
are almost invariably narrow in the ex-
treme, not ~infrequently giving rise to
some local thrust or gag. For instance,
one street in Aguascalientes is known us
The Street of the Jealous from its pave
ment of not more than twenty inches
wide.-City of Mexico Cor. San Fran
cisco Chronicle.