The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-03-25

A NEW MEXICO PICTURE
PICTURESQUE SCENE At A STOP
OF A SOUTHERN TRAIN.

Row q famous Railway Station In ths
Southwest Lsoks-A Place Where q
0ueer Mixture Of Humanity May b.
Daily Seer-A Passing Glance.
| One Of the famous eating houses o.
the Atchison road is situated at Wallace
where the train going south stops Late IL
the afternoon. As the cars draw up al
the station the long platform is thronged
with the people Of thscountry, 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 Toltess and Aztecs,
those migrating people, whose first home
was in the northwest before they went
south to colonize the valleys of the Mex
lean plateau-ths Pueblo Indians from
Santo Domingo and San Filipe.
They are quantity clad in their charac-
teristic garb of leggins and tunic, with
! blanket dress for the women, and some
times for the men a CANDY 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 usiiness
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 NATIoNAIITIEA
About the train is characteristic col
lection Of passengers. There are tour
lists, European and American CONNER
clal travellers, young men from the east
going 10 the southwest to try their fort
up~J, and perhaps In the rear cars some
families of emigrants. Representing the
territory are merchants, miners and cat
uemen 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 Aragm or Cas-
tile III her veins, and perhaps darker
and not unbeconaing tinge from Indian
ancestry. Travelling theatrical COM
panies, army officers and private soldiers
on leave or on duty, and Indian delega-
tons going on or returning from a visit
TO the great father at Washington, are
current types in southwest passenger
train.
Almost without exception the passen-
gers are affable and disposed to CONVEX
satlon. 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 SD much
time allowed for the stay th,,t the
traveller, after his ample and leisurely
meal, is able to walk about in thi $ bar
barously brilliant scene and max 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 AMY one
whose eye they may catch, hold up their
goods, and address him in langua
mainly aboriginal, with perhaps q few
Spanish and American words inter
but the only part of the dis
course really understood on either SHE is
the exteInporized sign language.
They ask several prices, expecting to
be beaten down to fair rate, and hey
seldom will let the possible customer get
away without consummating "a trade.
Demure, swarthy Pueblo children look
on the transactions of their elders VI ith
great interest, the larger girls helping
their mothers by carrying the very
young children in couch made by
singing shawl about their necks.