The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-04-25

IN Wllcn the ndlr IS mabGoQs ike pigs
bristles, in plaster This crown reaches
up say eight or nine inches and looks
like great plaster cone. 1t serves a
double purpose. Not only is it worn
at evening parties, but throughout the
day. Indeed. the primary object of
the mud cone was to preserve the head
from the intense heat of the southern
sun. Now, however, it is worn at even
ing balls, and no lady thinks herself
recherche and in positive1y good form
unless she has her novel crown on.
The hair is matted and twisted and
coiled all around in it, and it may be
depended on that it can not come loose
and come tumbling down and cause
her any embarrassment in company.
The longer a cone is worn the harder
it gets, and when it has reached the
age of a month, say, it is as hard as a
brick-bat, and would have to be
smashed to pieces with a sledge if
there were no other way discovered.
This, however. happily Is the case.
The old Aztecs invented, and the
secret has been perpetuated in the
race, a peculiar solution compounded
from wild plants which knocks the
plaster topknot to smithereens. 1t
takes some time to do it, however,
usually from five to six hours, and dur
ing this time the lovely Aztec maiden
or matrou must soak her head in big
jar of this solution. It is the proper
thing for the women to change these
cones at least once month. After
that the whitish soil of which it is
composed changes to a dull yellow, and
the wearer loses caste. And there is
caste among the poems as much as
there is among any other classes of
people.
These native women are fond of
necklaces, and you will often see them
going about with nothing on except a
necklace and a mud crown. Others
again will have very slight raiment
The men do not wear mud crowns, but
they are often as limited in their attire
as the feminine sex. Their habits are
extremely simple in the main, though
in some other respects they go off on
wild tangents.
During the larger part of the year
you will see, if you journey through
this region, hammocks slung from all
the trees at nighttime. Indeed, if you
were to be out of a moonlight night,
and it was your first experience, you
would think the palm and pine trees
were bearing singular fruit The ma
tives are all in these hammocks. They
are there to escape the tarantulas,
centipedes and Mexican scorpions,
which are out on the rampage. Let
one of these things get into your
blankets and he will never be easy UNI
til he gets a nip at the occupant. This
is why the natives will never sleep on
the ground. Besides, it is cooler and
more comfortable in the trees.
The peon. when he rises in the
morning, makes queer obeisance to
the east. He is saluting the morning
sun, and does it by first bowling until
he has his body at right angles to his
legs and horizontal to the earth. In
this position he pauses devoutly for,
perhaps, a quarter of a minute, and
then raising his body to its proper
position, he abruptly thrusts his right
leg, and then his left, forward. Anoth-
or polite bow to Aurora, delivered by
an inclination of the head alone, and
the business is done.
This salutation is supposed to win
him favor with the reigning forces of
the heavens and make him solid for
the day. The women never GO
through this morning performance.
They leave all such things to the men
The children OF both sexes quickly
catch up the ways of their elders, and
thus grow up perpetuating all the Gus
toms of the race. San Francisco Ex.
aminer.