Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-08-09
JUDASeS IN MEXICO.
A Sort Of Fireworks which the Mexicsns
Shoot OG an Special Occaaions

a Sort OF Fireworks which the Mexfcens
Shoot Od On Special OccaaIonS
The Judases are manifold as regards
both form and material There are
scores Of droll little devils made OF clay
and painted. spidery Of suggestion,
being perhaps an inch long, but COM
plete in make up, with tail and horns.
These are sold from. one half cent TO
one and half cents each, and they
are worn dangling from button or
buttonhole. Then there are monkey
shaped trifles, made Of silken or wool
ell lluH, or OF chenille, with bead
eyes, which are swung by scores in
festoons in the shop windows. and
hawked about the streets for medic
or a real. 6t or l2i cents each. These
also are suspended from a button.
Then there are Judases of all shapes
and sizes. and almost all grades up 10
more than the stature OF man. They
are made of paper and rags Of mon
strously crude formation and coarsest
+, painting. They aye made of card
board, paper, cloth and straw on a
cane foundation. They are made of
papier mache in really clever designs
and brilliantly painted. | have one
in the shape of a hunchbacked frog,
gaudily attired in (painted on) coat
and trousers of the true frog colors,
only of enhanced brightness, and a
crimson wRislcoat; its expression is un-
speakably droll aud knowing. But
the foundation of all these JudaSes,
save the two kinds first cited-the
vital principle. SO TO speak-is gun
powder. for was not the first original
Judas red haired and Of a highly in.
ecndiary characteri
Good Friday night in Mexico. if one
visit the churches. is apt TO inspire
somewhat Of solemn thought even in
the most frivolous. although ii may
be only through the impression of the
services. But Saturday morningl Ahl
Sabado de Gloria Saturday of gloryl
Then il is that the Judases are fred
no slang; the term is literal The
youngsters set off their little lone
horse" Judases, and on the street cor
ners ana IN front OF the most enter
prisirg pulque shops-for this is an
excellent device for advertising-the
la'ge ones are suspended from ropes
stretched from side TO side of the
.aoroughfare and touched off amid
General acclamation. They whizz and
.Iiss and sputter, twirling on their
ropes. until the fire reaches the fuse
Of the rockets which compose their
internal economy, and then slapl
bangl popl away goes fusillade like
young artillery, and the crowd shrek
and yell and 60 in TO plank down their
last tlaco for pulque.
The large Judases are less well
made in Mexico than in the interior,
where, also the people have a naive
way OF giving to the face the sem
blance Of hated Gachupin (cant term
for Spaniard) or some other unpopular
parsonage. | remember a scene over
or under-a Judas in the port OF
Mazatlan in my childhood, whose inn
preston has always remained with
me very strong and unpleasant Those
hot blooded, passionate coast people
seem 10 regard the arch betrayer as a
personal enemy, and his effigy as a
living, sentient creature. While it
hung in the air, whirling with the
might of the forces engendered within
il by its burning, they Knocked il, they
butfeted it, they spat upon it, they
imprecated it; and when at last its
explosive contents burst il into frag-
ments they fell upon the pieces tooth
and nail, and bit and rent and tore
them with a fury and ferocity that
the things semblance TO humanity
made sickening. But the people Of
the plateau have been too long under
the yoke of oppressors and the dem
milton, deadly dull grind of poverty
10 show so much fervor. They take
theirs out in screaming and in guz-
zliug. City Of Mexico Cor. San Fran
cisco Chronicle.