Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-08-16
JUOASES IN MEXICO.
A Sort OF Fireworks which the Mexicans
Shoot on on Special Occasions.

Shoot OF on Special Occasions
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 triaes, made of silken or wool
en- fluff, 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, 81 or 12i cents each. These
also are suspended from a button.
Then there are Judases of all shapes
and sizes, and almost all grades up to
more than the stature of a man. They
are made of paper and rags of mon
strously crude formation and coarsest
painting. They are 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. l 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 waistcoat; its expression is un-
speakably droll and knowing. But
the foundation of all these Judases,
save the two kinds first cited-the
vital principle, SO to speaks gun
powder for was not the first original
Judas red haired and of highly in
cendiary charactera
Good Friday night in Mexico, if one
visit the churches, is apt to inspire
somewhat of solemn thought even in
the most frivolous, although it may
be only through the impression of the
services But Saturday morningl All
Sabado de Glorial Saturday of glory
Then it 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
uers and in front of the most enter
plising pulque shops-for this is an
excellent device for advertising-the
large ones are suspended from ropes
stretched from side to side of the
thoroughfare and touched off amid
general exclamation. They whizz and
hiss and sputter, twirling on theii
ropes, until the fire reaches the fuse
of the rockets which compose theil
internal economy, and then slap
bang pop! away goes fusillade like
young artillery and the crowd shriel
and yell and go in to plank down theil
last taco for pulque.
The large Judases are less well
made in Mexico than in the interior
where, also, the people have a naive
way q giving to the face the sem
blahce of a hated Gachupin (cant tern
for Spaniard) or some other unpopular
parsonage. | remember a scene ovel
or under-a Judas in the port O
Mazatlan in my childhood, whose i'm
preston has always remained with
me very strong and unpleasant. Thos,
hot blooded, passionate coast people
seem to regard the arch betrayer as
personal enemy, and his efligy as {
living, sentient creature. While i
hung in the air, whirling with tn,
might of the forces engendered within
it by its burning, they Knocked it, they
butfeted it, they spat upon it, they
imprecated it; and when at last it
explosive contents burst it into frag
ments they fell upon the pieces tootl
and nail, and bit and rent and tori
them with fury and ferocity tina
the things semblance to humanity
made sickening. But the people o
the plateau have been too long unde
the yoke of oppressors and the dem
milton, deadly dull grind of poverty
to show so much fervor. They tax,
theirs out in screaming and in guz
cling. City of Mexico Cor. San Fran
cisco Chronicle.