Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-26

longings not in immediate use were piled
around the outer edges as a barricade against
i the fitful gusts OF wind that persisted in skur-
| rying in beneath the tapping walls.
Cupboards, Of course. there were none the
dishes being piled on the ground in promiscu-
| Gus heaps washed clean by prowling dogs
lean, uncanny creatures that outnumbered
their masters several to one. There were huge
| trenchers followed out OF blocks of wood. bark
| platters and excellent spoons made by sticking
a clam shell on conveniently shaped branch.
| and armadilo shell bowls. By way Of q soup
dish one might go good deal farther and fare
worse than to use the round. deep shell Of the
| Patagonian armadillo or ant eater. Then there
were bucket-shaped baskets made of the coarse
pampa grass, so tightly braided that water can
| be carried in them without leaking q drop;
asadors or spits Of bone and wood, and even
two or three iron kettles.
Squatted upon a horsehide in one Of these
| queer homes, surrounded by an admiring throng
of grinning women and children-whose good
graces had previously been won by gifts Of
beads and red calico-we partook of hospitality
| in the shape Of a custarda Ia Patagonienne, the
receipt for which please accept q Christmas
present: Break small hole in the point Of an
ostrich egg, and after removing part Of the in
digestible white (it is the fashion here to suck
it QUIT. beat the yolk thoroughly with stick,
hair pin, or whatever comes handy, adding q
little sugar il you have it, or whisky If you like
it, or plain salt and pepper as we did. Then set
the egg on end in the hot ashes, just far enough
from the blaze not to crack the shell, beating
the batter now and then and turning it around
so that the mixture will not adhere to the Sides
III a novice you will probably burn your fingers
pretty badly and may be upset the whole thing
In the IRE; but even in the latter case you may
be consoled with the thought that you haven
lost much, and that the duty of friendly polite
ness, as demanded by local etiquette, has been
religiously fulfilled in the cleanest possible
manner without touching . dog-licked utensil
belonging to the toldo.
THE HARD-woRKINa WOMEN.
However charming the life of Q "noble
savage" may be, its delights do not appear to be
shared to any great extent by the weaker sex,
even in Patagonia / never saw women work
harder than these-even society leaders in the
center Of the ''swim"-and am told that their
untiring industry is the same year in and
out. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of their
tools they sew neatly and with remarkable
rapidity-their only thread being sinews from
the backs Of old guanacos and their needle a
silver or bone, sharpened at one end and q
hole punched in the other. The labor on
single fur capa or mantle. which both men and
women wear, Is immense, and, besides those
required for their own use, they are constantly
making others for sale. The skins are taken
from guanacos less than q month old-because
, after that age the fur begins to grow coarse
and wooly-and are first pegged to the ground
with long thorns of the aIgarroba tree and left
to dry in the sun. When thoroughly sea
soned' they are taken up and scraped with
pieces OF flint or bits of broken glass fixed into
a rude handle. Then they are smeared all over
with a mixture Of tallow and liver, kneaded int
pulp: after which they must be rubbed in
the hands for many hours, until they become
soft and pliable- Then they are spread ON the
ground and cut with a sharp knife into suita-
bic pieces, dove-tailed to fit one another in
order to give greater strength to the seams.
number of women sit down together to sew
these pieces, each with her bone needle, sinew.
thread and bodkin made of a sharpened nail
whole mantle is never sewn at once, but
when half is finished it is pegged out on the
ground, its surface slightly mOistened and each
woman takes a chunk of red ochre and stains
1t with greatest care. When the ground work
is done pattern is put on-usualiy spots and
lines OF black. blue and yellow, sometimes
varied by triangies and small crosses, the latter
device probably borrowed from the mission
aries. When the painting is concluded it is
left day or two to dry, and when the other