The Monitor., 1891-03-20
A NEW MEXICO PICTURE.
PICTURESQUE SCENE AT A STOP
OF A SOUTHERN TRAM.

Daily Sec1-A Passing Glance.
One of the famous eating houses Of
the Atchison road is situated at Wallace,
where the train going south stops late in
the afternoon. As the cars draw up ct
the station the long platform is thronged
with the people of the country, of diverse
races. Rough miners in flannel and
heavy boots stand watching the train;
cowboys. set off by sombreros and spurs,
swagger about the platform, and Span
ish-Americans, with swarthy faces and
cleaning black eyes, lounge against the
ratings, looking impassively on the
scene. Most picturesque of all there
gathered are the descendants of the
tribes akin to the Toltecs and Aztecs,
those migrating people, whose first home
was in the northwest before they went
south to colonize the valleys of the Mex
ican plateau-the Pueblo Indians from
Santo Domingo and San Filipe.
They are quantity clad in their charac-
teristic garb of leggins and tunic, with
a blanket dress for the women. and some
times for the men gaudy blanket wrap
ped about the body. Some are awaiting
the train on the station platform, and
others, belated. are seen running toward
the cars, bearing on their heads and
backs the things they have to trade
They exhibit great variety of pottery,
in the shape of vessels of divers sizes.
form and patterns of decoration, and
many earthen idols of infinite ugliness.
They offer for sale pieces of what the
New Mexican curiosity dealers call
smoky topaz, which in reality is obsidian
or volcanic glass, the material used by
the ancient Aztecs for cutting purposes.
from swords down to razors.
MANY NATIoNALITIEs.
About the train is a characteristic col
lection of passengers. There are tour
lists, European and American CONNER
cial travellers. young men from the east
going to the southwest to try their fort
unes. and perhaps in the rear cars some
families Of emigrants. Representing the
territory are merchants, miners and cat
tlemen of American and Spanish-Ameri-
can descent, while opposite the blonde
eastern lady, in her dainty travelling
habit. may sit dark eyed olive tinted
beauty with the blood of Aragon or Cas-
tile in her veins, and perhaps darker
and not unbecoming tinge from Indian
ancestry. Travelling theatrical COM
panies, army officers and private soldiers
on leave or on duty, and Indian delega-
tions going on or returning from visit
to the great father at Washington, ara
current types in southwest passenger
train
Almost without exception the passen-
gers are afable and disposed to conver-
sation. Stiffness and reserve among fell
low passengers by stage or by rail vanish
west of the hundredth meridian
There Is an excellent dinner, plentiful
and well served, at the pleasant and
roomy railroad restaurant, with SO much
time allowed for the stay that tho
traveller. after his ample and leisurely
meal. is able to walk about in this bar
barously brilliant scene and make bar
gains with the brown and worldly wise
sons and daughters Of the country for
such of their wares as he fancies. The
Pueblo Indians hasten toward any one
whose eye they may catch, hold up their
goods, and address him in a language
mainly aboriginal, with perhaps few
Spanish and American words inter
mingled, but the only part of the dis
course really understood on either side is
the extenporized sign language.
They ask several prices. expecting to
be beaten down to a fair rate, and they
seldom will let the possible customer get
away without consummating n trade.
Demure. swarthy Pueblo children look
on the transactions of their elders with
great interest, the larger girls helping
their mothers by carrying the very
young children in couch made by
singing a shawl about their necks.
INDIAS POTTERY.
The Indian pottery is the ware most
purchased by the passengers. 1t Is
quaint Of pattern, and in its way much
of it is really beautiful. The material
of which it IS made is white or grayish
tinted clay, which the men bring to the
women, who are the pottery makers.
The Indians guard jealously the secre.
of the places where are found the earth
that makes the choicest kinda The
hunter. prt,spector or railroad explorer
coming suddenly upon these natives en-
gagged in digging clay for the purpose is
likely to remember the terror and con-
sternation which they exhibit.
The nodded pottery is buried in dry
Sleeps dung, which is fired, and Thus it
is baked The material used in making
the striped designs is decoction from
certain green root which the Indians
call wake. 1t is painted upon the ves-
sells, and in the baking it turns black.
The best pottery is made by the Acoma.
Zuni and Cochiti Indians.
a gong clanks at the station, and
those passengers who have not already
returned to the cars discontinue their
promenade or hastily conclude their
bargains. The conductor cry rings out,
IAN aboardr' and the laggards enter the
cars; but even as the train moves slowly
off the passengers are still making last
bargains from the car platforms and
through the windows with the aborig-
ines, who at the fast approaching dis
appearance of their possible customers
are disposed at the last moment to close
bargains at almost any price. The train
gathers headway, the last Indian vender
is passed and soon the platform with its
semi -barbaric. party eolored assemblage
is left behind, and the passengers have
turned from the strange and striking