Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-12-22

81 80 - a. ~ - %lSA)h - a
Mexico. The natives all drink it
with avidity, as a German drinks
lager beer, as a Frenchman drinks
wine, or as an American drinks any
thing and everything which contains
alcohol. 1t is like very thin, sour but
ter milk, lasts meaner than pig swill,
and every place where it is sold
stinks worse than a still house going
to rot. 1t is not intoxicating unless
drank in very Incorporate quantities,
or after 1t has undergone considerable
fermentation. Large quantities of it
are brought into the cities every
morning in jugs, hog and goat skins,
barrels or any other vessels which
will hold liquids. The hog and goat
skins are the filthiest looking vessels
we ever saw used to hold anything
for human consumption. An Ameri-
can would not use them to carry feed
to swine. When pulque has reached
certain stage of fermentation it is
distilled, and the product is a liquor
called mescal, which is quite similar
to our corn whisky. They make
several other distinctively Mexican
liquors, but we did not learn the pro-
cess of manufacture, or of what ma
terials they are brewed. The fiber of
the meguey plant is used for making
mats, baskets, and various other USE
full and ornamental articles. 1t is
quite tough and durable material,
and the MeXicans work it up into
many beautiful and artistic designs.
All the vessels used by the natives
for cooking purposes are of pottery.
They are very skillful in the manu-
facture of this ware, and some Of it is
almost as durable as iron, while it has
the advantage of being much lighter.
Three Of the principal articles of
food are tertillas, tamalas and chilli
cOn-carnc. These, with fruits, form
the staple diet of the masses. The
tartilla is made from corn which has
been soaked in lime water until it is
softened and freed from the husks.
The corn is then mashed quite fine on
a kind of stone tray, by means of a
smaller stone, pressed into a thin
cake with the hands, and baked on
an open pottery vessel over a small
charcoal fire. The chili-con-carne is
meat of various kinds chopped up in
to hash, mixed with almost or quite
an equal quantity of red pepper and
stewed together. For the tamala,
corn is mashed up the same as for
tartillas, roll Of it is made about one
inch in diameter, with a small guam
tity of meat and pepper through the
center; the whole is then wrapped
in shuck and boiled for several hours.
A hungry man can make a very salts.
flying meal on tamalas. We have
: eaten lots of things in United States
hotels and boarding houses net neal
so palatable.
Through the country scarcely any
other but adobe buildings are to be
seen, and they are rarely ever more
than one story high. In the cite:
many of the buildings are of more
substantial structure stone, con.
crete, etc. and numbers of them Of
very imposing appearance. The
adobe is large square Of mud drieC
in the sun. They are about four
, inches thick, from nine to twelve
, inches wide, and twelve to eighteen
! inches long. One course Of them gen
, orally forms the wall. Many Of TIT
{ houses look like one good rain would
, wash them down, but they stand 70,
, ages. The adobe is also largely useC
2 for fences or walls around large en-
, closures. Adobe houses all have dir
t floors. In the majority of them NJ
! furniture whatever is to be seen; tn,
f inhabitants sleep on mats and sit OF
s the ground. The family, the goa
q and the pig are frequently seen occu
S plying the same room. We noticed
'. one of these primitive menageries a
! it were, where the goat and pig seem
? ed very much disguised, while tn
0 other occupants appeared perfect,
e happy.
/ Schools are ALPHABETICALLY unknown
a through the country. The great mas
G of purely Mexican population, ant
i this class forms probably three-fourth
/. of the population Of the country, ar
@ Ignorant, superstitious, poverty strick
n en- and priest-ridden to a most pitt
# able degree. Smallpox is almost a
@ prevalent among them as bad cold
n in this country. The filth and dir