Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-01-16
NO. 81.

tGuQ u DallS- or Mexican dance.
bale is, of course, q most harmless
recreation, but to fly to the opposite ex-
treme, with the lights in the church yet
burning and the priests still shrouded in
sacramental robes, impressed one as being
just trifie sacrilegious.
Women 50 lately sitting with uncovered
heads in silent devotion now tripped lightly
through the gloomy streets, moving in and
out between the darkened structures, chat
ting and laughing each with the other, ap-
parently in the very transports Of merri-
ment
Reaching a long row-roofed building,
where small, dingy window emitted =
fiickering, uncertain light, and shrin strains
OF music floated out into the night through
an open door, the casual visitor allowed
himself to be hustled rather uncereme
niously into the very midst Of Mexican
dance.
The dancing apartment consisted of one
long, narrow hall, along either side Of
which, for the accommodation of ladies, sew
eral rough, wooden benches were strung
out, each set closely against the wall. UpoA
these sat women of all ages, in all magma
bic toilettes, with hands crossed demurely
. IN front of them, but intent upon watching
the movements Of those upon the floor.
number of tallow candles stuck into
wide wooden crosses and suspended at va
rious places from the ceiling impaired q
| dim and almost religious light, that cast a
weird, peculiar glow upon the dusky
wall, which had received q fresh
adornment Of whitewash for the oc-
caslon, arranged in an odd, fantastic
fashion, were groups of vari-hued mus
Inns and calicoes made up with compli-
Gated loops, bows and circles and neatly
pinned together by means of green cedar
boughs.
These simple green leaves and bright
colored muslins combined in making no
ticeaby pleasing effect, and greatly relieved
the dull, dead white of the walls.
To assist the passage of sound two soul
ful musicians were accorded seat high
above the crowd upon mammoth dry-goods
box, where they played on q violin and
guitar. However. the dancers were favored
with additional sounds, very hollow, how
ever, that issued from the depths of the
resonant dry-goods box, and occasionally
by four well-soled boots keeping up a con-
tinual tattoo.
Women Of all ages and girls not yet in
their teens eagerly await a request to be led
| out upon the floor, yet upon the face of those
| neglected and who wait, unasked, for
hours upon the hard wooden benches, I
have never noticed an expression that
| would denote envy.
The old crone Of fifty accepts an invita-
ton as promptly as the blushing young
damsel Of sixteen She perhaps does not
| feel the same thrill of pleasure of her
younger sister, but she certainly brightens
| up on ''dance nights" and goes through
| the regulation moves to the best of her
ability, which, considering her advanced
years, is very considerable. The principal
| charm, if any there be in Mexican dances,
| is their simplicity. Each dancer, from rea-
son Of being taught from early childhood,
has all the required steps down to a science,
| which obviates the necessity of any "call-
ing OFF, or prompting"
Such simplicity, however, does not pre-
vail throughout the entire performance, as
other very undesirable and highly con-
gruous features strike one as being ex-
tremely vulgar, if not wholly barbarous.
For instance, male gallant during inter
walls between sets amused himself. If no
one else, by stalking up and down the floor,
leering his body to and fro with an air of
bravado and by pounding his feet vigor-
ously upon the boards made harsh, dis
cordant noise with the clashing of two
| monster spurs, one of which he wore
| buckled to either boot.
| Another young man, tall and exception
| aHy Herce-looklng, swung pretty young
| girl through the delights of waltz, while
| the polished end of huge six-shooter at
each turn cleaned bright and formidable
from beneath his coat.
At the completion of each set, the gentle
| man conducts the lady to an adjoining room
where refreshments are served. The re-
freshment stand, over which an elderly
woman in a white apron presided, is wor-
thy Of note. The upper surface of the stand
| upon which the delicacies were served
measured about four feet square; directly
in the center stood dozen or more large
black bottles, some full, others partially
| filed with liquor Around the bottles, ar
ranged in circle, were q number of
| saucers.
The men for the most part took liquor,
but the women regaled themselves each
time with the contents of single saucer,
and the price for the combination of
| liquors, fruit and confections amounted to
the modest sum of twenty-five cents As
the hours waned, the more careful parents
took their children home. Others left in
small numbers; the candles one by one
auttered out gradually, darkening the
room, and finally the revelers were fol-
lowed into the darkness by the two very
much-fatigued musicians.