Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-15

tied to cross poles With strings The poles are
OF the same length and to their tops rafters are
tied and on these q matched roof is fastened in
the same way. Sometimes the pole walls are
plastered with mud, but generally the poles
stand about an inch apart and YOU can see all
that is going on in the hut through its walls.
saw whole villages Of such huts in the state Of
Vera Cruz and the Indians who swarmed In and
out of them we're often half naked. Here there
was plenty OF wood and the cooking was done
in the open air. On the plateau much Of it
was done with charcoal and the fire was kept
alive while the food was on IL by means of q fan
made OF rushes, which the women moved Wig
orously to and fro during the operation. Both
on the plateau and in the hot country saw
many huts which had several rooms, and the
homes Of the better classes of the poor had now
and then q table and O chair.
IN THE CITIES.
lind the majority of the poor living in ten
ement houses; and here in Mexico City there
are streets where the people fairly swarm and
where whole families and several families are
crowded at night in one damp, ill-smelling
room, with nothing but this foulest OF sewer
age-laden ground to sleep upon. On tho out
skirts OF the city you may see tho homes Of
squatters, made OF all kinds of refuse materials,
from tin cans to store boxes and sun-dried
bricks, and some Of the huts are so low that
the people have to get down on all fours to get
INTO them. Such places are occupied by the
poorest Of the poor of this great city. Their
inhabitants live by begging odd jobs and
OFTEN by stealing. and they constitute what
might be called the residences Of the i've
points element Of the capital
HOW THEY DRESS AND WHAT THEY EAT.
The Mexican Indians are not the blanket
savages of our western territories. They do
not cut the seats out Of their pantaloons before
they wear them, as our Indians do. They are,
in fact as clearly and particular about their
Clothes as any people in similar circumstances
the world over The poorest man has his white
shirt and white wide-legged pantaloons, and the
Indian girl wears a white chemise and skirt.
She has it is true. not the corset. the hip pads
or the hustle of our advanced civilization. and
the Gov covering o. Of her long black hair nr
meager purse can buy; still she looks
neat and tidy in her simple raiment, and when
young she has straightness and rounduess Of
form and feature which many Of our bellies
might envy. The feet of both sexes are bare
and are half clad in sandals made Of two pieces
OF sole leather about the size of the bottom Of
your foot and one bound on the top and the
other on the sole of the foot when worn.
These sandals cost about % cents pair, and
you could dress an Indian woman so that she
would look respectable here for $3.50.
MANS DRESS.
1t would cost considerably more to fit out
the man, and tho clothes of the Mexican peon
are one of the big items of the family. His
blanket or serape, which he wraps pic
turesquely about his shoulders, and which he
wears when not working both day and night,
costs all the way from 50 as high as he can
afford to go. / have seen some that were
worth 500, but these were handmade and very
nne. His hat, broad brimmed and Of straw or
felt, may cost less than 81 or it may cost $50,
ana his pantaloons or coat like amount If.
however, he Is the ordinary Indian he will
QaI TN n oh
eottons, and he will march around under his
DIG straw hat with all the airs of the brgand of
the stage. Neither he nor his wife will wear
underclothing, and they will sleep at night in
the same outfit that they wore during the day.
Ihe cost Of their food will not be proportion
a'ely greater than the cost OF their clothing.
WHAT THEY LIVE on.
Three-fourths of Mexico live almost entirely
on black beans and cakes made of Indian corn,
and the frijo!es and the tortillns sauced with
red peppers make up the diet Of the Mexican
Indians. The tortilas form the chief occupa-
lion OF the Mexican housewife. Every woman
Is her own miller and cook rough fiat stone
foot wide and eighteen inches long is her
mil, and she soaks the grains of corn in lime
water till they are soft, and then rubs them on
TINS stone with another round stone like the
MILESTONE you use in sharping scythe until
she gets them into paste. She pats this out
like a griddle cake and cooks it before her
open fire. 1t is by no means bad eating and
with sauce OF red pepper it flows down
the great Mexican throat BY the millions
per diem. As to the frijoles or black bleans.
they are sweeter and better than the baked
beans OF Boston, and the better classos Of the
Indians have many dishes which are both
cheap and good.
INDIAN VILLAGES
Many Of the Indians of Mexico live in vii
lagos OF their own. They hold their lands in
common, cultivate them together and divide
the proceeds. These villages have their own
customs and while under the general govern
ment they have certain regulations which gov
ern their own people. All over Mexico the
poems. Aztecs or Indians-however they may
be called-have traditions. queer customs and
superstitions, many Of which have come down
from the days of the Montczumas and it il q
wonder that some ethnologist does not make
them study. There are, it is said, a hundred
different dialects in Use among them
today, and though the most Of them
speak Spanish nearly all speak their own
language as we'll They are people of more
than ordinary culture, great lovers of music.
easily governed and very polite. They exhibit
great love toward each other and in their fami-
lies, and the question rs to their future il one
OF the questions of the Mexico OF today They
have produced many good men. President
Juarez, one of the greatest men of Mexico's
past. was pure Indian; President Diaz has
Indian blood III his veins; the Me xican congress
contains number of pure Indians and the
great Mexico Of the future is bound to be
greatly influenced by its Aztec blood.
FRANK g.. CARPENTER.