San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-04-18
THE BORDER MEXICANS.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HAPPY
PEASANTS OF THE SOUTHWEST.
Realizing ROuSseau's Definition of Free
dom-Simple Lives That Have a Great
Deal of Unyarnshed Happiness in Them.


Along zone OF our southwest border,
from the Gult OF talItOrnla TO corpus ChrlNu,
on the Texas coast, Is found type OF being
that Is almost an anomaly, even among our
own cosmopolitan classes. The border Next
can, or ''greaaer has no nation, yet he Is
distinctly local lie Is the evolution OF that
arlcd ana sun kissed belt chaIacteitAed ~
flora and fauna aSacrlmonIouN and as shaggy
as himself ana best eXemphhcd 10y the cactus
the "ON"t" ana the hulrO GU cannot ac-
cuNe najuf" OF MAKING Il mistake IN MS cr"ii-
tIpn, for h" l. an adaptation mat rises super
I"r to adNrrsliN You VIII ina nm Pictur
eHque amt. when better Known not all bat.
This Mexican Is far below the nation repre-
sentative, YET he Is not the degraded peon or
stIl OF tue lhHh lie !" rather what the peoh
has become IN the Two generations he has ell
Jnyei III" iEee!om or our government, II NOT
wiser, AZ least less >erNlle. lie Is generally
adlEttPd 10 he IN" reNUitot luSlOh Tor som"
centuries OF In" SpauIard with That mllI
typ" or en'l-clNlIlZed Indian or the Cort"Z
congueSta, but /, nearer the Spanlard, whose
beautiful language, further Sottened INTO
dialect, he StIIl retains inns may he due to
lazneSs, but Is more probably from the hquld
movement or Indian speech peculiar 10 some
OF the southern tribes, as shown by the pres
ent language or the PImaS ana MarlcOpas OF
southern Arizona
WANT NOT TIE tNATTAlNABIE
Inc MrXlcanS are the happleSt OF contented
creatures, and. though poverty Is their UNI
vPrSaI heritage, they nave no wants jean
jacques Rousseau must nave been among
similar peasant class III ltaIE When ne wrote
SO truthlulIy that lie only Is Tree VINO wants
nothing beyond what he can get ana does
harmIesSIy as ne pleaSes lhere are Two
classes OF Mexican peasants, the l4ahradorS
and the RancheroS. Inc former are the
mllIer, simpler people found SprlnkIed along
the small canyons ana valleys on HUI" pI"'N
OF bottom Iahd auJiceht ana irrI%ateh oE
simple or community bitches called a"equlaS'
"hl"h lead from the streams Winding al"lI
tn" bank IN a gradual way uIl the stream
lower Level VIII permit theh ilhaIIN |" wan
der over the bottom. lhey bridge no ar
royaS, hulid II" DAMS arches OF culNeftS, ana
use only natures level, water, to give the
grade required for their canals In engln-
eering ability they are as far behind the Az
tees, VIII" once lnhabltch inns Valley as are
the present Egyptians h"nmd their ancestors
under Mene>.
family of dozen, exclusive OF dogs-as many
more. FIRST crop OF melons and cepaia
melonS and barley; later crop OF treJoI"N
and calabazaa lMeXlcan beans and pumpAnNl.
little pepper and onions and their commits
S;try Is complete. Inc Ran"heroS nav" more
or less cattle, ponies, sheep or goats, are les,
local in tL,:r tastes ami are more hardy, So
,..a' it j, auOn- them mat l. sometimes found
,h;,t outlaw 81. 'nrnt that has mad" "Iir"n."r'
lnn synonym for bandit and has stamped th"
Gylr,' a. thieviu- ami trracl"rou~. This char
arter Is partly Inc result OF Il traditional sen
;imrnt-a spirit Of adventurous Resistance 70
tyranny. On tine AeNiran side man who
rvadrs their outrageous take, and customs j..
Il hero; one killed in an attempt to do So a
martyr. The government only is the ruhhcr
The men are fine h"ra"men, Of the firm yet
easy border seat, always using that instrument
oi torture, the bocada, or Spanish Bit IN the
control Of their ponies. Many are expert in
tossing tine RATA and some handle revolver
we'll. \ Pueblo scene is very characteristics
Adobe dwellings, matched roofs. arhorr be-
u"ath which are the stone jars left unElaZni
for cooling water, and the stone u;s!rd mill for
.,rnumg the corn for corn cakes, called tor
tiIas." The conservatism of tins people would
compare with that Of India. The agriculture
al methods are those described in the Bible
Hay is cut with hoe, sometimes Il hand knife
or a sickle: a bough whose forks embrrce the
proper angle IN. their pillow, and their oxen
are yoked by la>hing a pole to the base of thrr
horns
AT THE BALL
\ fiesta is usually celebrated by "bailr."
or dance. If it he fall and the right air he
a