The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-17
THE FARMS OF MEIICO,
PRIMITIVE METHODS OF CULTlVA
TON ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE-
A PIowman at Work-land owners
and Their Peon Laborers " ays
of TRANSFORMATION.

GAS old as Egypt SAID a leL.o"-
traveller on recent tour through AeAlco,
as he gazed from the window OF palace
ear at the primitive blowing Of Mexican
farmer. The plowman's costume seemed
as unreasonable as the green oil Inc
neighborIng tlelds-unseasonaole, at least
TO is, who had left SHOWS ana oIz%Ar"s
only three days behind. lie wore, 2Iief
the manner OF Chlnaman, oIoUse or
loose shirt Of white cotton cIotA. woe
bargy pants OF the same mater a., ma q
shawl-tholgh the NeNlcau docsH ca"
ii a shawl but Za-ape, ana throws L
over his shoulders, letting the long tnd
hang down on the lett SIDE. \ woe
brmmed straw hat comp'ete1 MS
costume.
on have seen pictures OF 'Ae P.o"9o1
the ancient egyptians. linen 5Vt H.''0
lalT lIusrH on OF 'Ho7c 81 II, N.Y.
They have one handle, are often he"h
from hardwood trees, the IorNs OF when
give them proper shape, an the tough
tibred wood Is sufficient without share
of metal. Iron IS scarcer than SILVER III
Mexico. The p.owman ho!Qs Inc Slh7I1
handle with one mana, and WIN the
other aud long pole, goids th5 '"o'
four or eight oxen Wh.th lufhIsh tHe
slow but sure motive power IoT ms an
original cIluvator. Some enterprs'h8
ranCheros or farmers trlcd 10 lhtIoduce
the American pIow, DuL they were IounU
&c have too many handles ana one was
promptly sawed oil, with Whlch aIlefa,
ton they worked very we'll. ne steer
share Of the American ploW spoled tho
Mexican pIoWman, ano owing 10 the
scarcity Of iron IN the country, the ran
road companies commenced 10 miss tAelF
couplings, pins, and other loose iron
and the fish plates distributed along the
track for fastening the ralJs were apPro-
priated, and, Ike the swords OF ancient
warriors, fashioned into pIowshares.
The crops are harvested with ample
ments as primitive Us the Egyptian pillow,
the sickle and the scythe doing duty IN
place of the reaper and the mower
Threshing machines are comparatively
unknown.
The hacienda is plantation when may
contain thousands or tens Of thousands
of acres, often owned by one man, whose
| acres are cultivated by the eoonS, as the
natives are cal ed and who are Frac-
ticallv his slaves, as they work on shares
and are in debt from year to year to the
with interest.
called the hacienda. 1t is located on
some healthful hillside and resembles a
walled town, with its arched gateways,
towers and church beIfry overlooking
the walls, within which are gathered at
night, on Sundays and feast days, the
peOn labOrer all the horses, cattle, and
| everything that is his, and are fed, man
and beast. There is a church and priest
at every hacienda, supported by the
tribute exacted from all of high and low
degree. Rich and poor must pay, ac-
cOrding as the land has yielded sub
| stance-a duty reIigOusly adhered to.
AS on the plantations in the South, the
poems are supplied with what they need
from the hacienda 'commissary." Their
wants are few, but the end Of the year
usually Gnds balance against them,
which must be deducted from the next
crop, and thus the peon IS ever dealing
in futures"
The farm wagon Is as much curiosity
as the one-handled plow. 1t goes on
two wheels. The wheels arc very
cur.ously wrought. They are sawed, or
more properly hewn, from the trunk of
a tree. Trees large enough for wheel
are scarce and the wheel must be
built IN sections. The proper thickness,
say six or eight inches, is cut Of the tree;
this is cut in half making two pieces,
which are afterward ojned together with
other pieces, making q wheel not ex-
actly round, but the Mexican docs not
care for that, so long as his wheel is Big
enough. A wooden axle, tongue and
huge box or bed complete the vehicle
not pretty one to be sure, but sub
stantial enough to bear a load needing
eight, ten and twelve oxen to draw it.
Mexican farm transportation does not
go altogether on wheels. The burrO, or
donkey, is the chief beast Of burden, and
it can carry more than it can pull. Each
hacienda has them in droves. The little
animals are patient and untiring, and
will trudge for miles to market or the
railway station, with two to four sacks
of corn or wheat weighing more than
their own body. In the mining districts,
and from the stone quarries, they carry
bags of silver ore, or slabs of stone, stag
gering over mountain roads, where
| horse would not dare to go have seen
drove Of burros coming to a city in the
early morning, so concealed with their
loads of garden provender that only
their little hoofs and the tips of their
long ears could be seen, looking for all
the world like walking hay mows.
While the hacienda may own hun