The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1890-04-12
oMApRlD's wAsAeR.woMEN.
Tsn Thousand Daily Fly Their Trade OF
the Banks of the Manzanares.

Tsn Thousand Daily Fly Their Trade on
the Banks of the NIanzanares.
Madrid's river of fhigh.sounding name,
the Manzanares, is spatter 6f wet from
tho Guada,rrna Mountains in winter, a
muddy torrent In spring, sand-blown
ditch in the summer, and hardly capa-
BILE sewer at any time Of the year. 1t
comes down from the cold, gray heights
to the North of Madrid, and winds half
way around the city from the nor 3hwest
to the southeast. What water flows
through 1t breaks in sandy shadows,
forming innlmerable little islands and
euriously rounded strips of lands, all nc.
cessible by any barefoot boy orgirl. Ten
thousand women soak and splash and
souse and beat the linen of Madrid with.
in its scant waters every day. Not an
article of clothing Is elsewhere washed.
No other than these Manzanares lavan-
deras are permitted to labor as laund-
resses: and for three miles up and down
the stream, from opposite the infantry
and artillery barracks, upon the heights
of Montana del Principe, past the win
dows OF the Queen Regents apartments
in the royal palace, and circling
around away beyond Toledo Gate, the
moving dots of red and blue, yellow and
gray, comprise this great army of
Amazons, with arms and legs on them
like tree trunks; with voluptuous
breasts and shapely necks; hard-muscled
and bronzed as Turks; the most arduous
toilers, the wickedest blackguards, and
withal the sunniest tempered souls in
| Spain. There are three grades in this
labor. They are the mistresses, or amas,
the overseers or ayudantas and the la
vanderas themselves. All are women.
The first arc the agents who receive the
work from the hotels, great houses, and
the city agencies, in huge lots, and are
reponSible for it's safe return. The
ayudantas or overseers are really the
forewomen of from dozen to score of
lavenderas each; and they are re.
sponsible for work placed in their hands
by the amas. At five in the morning,
winter and summer, the lavanderas viii,
be seen, many of them with children
trundling beside them, creeping along
from the barrios abaios or lower quart
ers of the city toward the Manzanarar.
Near the river is an asilo or asylum. s.
refuge for their children.
BY six O'Clock you might count frca,
5000 to 5000 of the strange creatures ~
work. The entire sloping, sandy banf.
are covered with drying poles. At th,s
time of the year the water from ttIl
mountains is of icy temperature. But
| it seems to make no difference with their
labors. Here and there huge cauldrons
contain boiling water. From time to
time trifle of this is poured in the
little hollow where each one tolls in the
sand and water; but this seems to be
done more from habit than necessity.
Each lavendera brings her own huge
roll of bread, perhaps bit of cheese. a
claspknife to prevent undue liberties
from the struggling soldiery near as well
as to use in cutting bread, and, just
before noon, they breakfast in huge
wooden sheds on salt fish, potatoes, and
coffee, with measure of red wine pro-
vided by the anna, duplicating this meal
at a dinner at four in the afternoon.
They eat like animals, and the mo.
ment their food is disposed of the tinltle
Of the guitar is heard, and you or any
kindly disposed passer may dance with
them as l did, until the thirty minutes
allowed them for food and refresco have
expired. On these occasions every one
dances, girls of eighteen and women of
eighty, and the scenes along the Man
zanares are very picturesque and inter-
esting. But when l tell you that one
of these iron-framed wenches must wash
and dry ready for the ''starching.' which
is done by the criadas in the city, pieces
of linen equaling the cleansing of sew.
enty sheets, in order to earn twenty-five
cents per day, the poetical sense in it
all is with the interested onlooker
rather than with the drudging lavan-
deras of the Manzanares. es.-Pittsburgh
Dispatch.