The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-07-26

saving always the burro, and the loads are
nearly all carried on the shoulders OF men.
Many of them, even when not loaded, take
to the street and jog along patiently III
sort of up-and-down dog trot, just as they
do when they are heavily laden.
A look down one of the principal streets
will not differ greatly from our own. There
are stores, two to three stories high on each
side, shade trees with latticed boxes around
them on the edge of the sidewalk, paved
roadway, street car track, electric lights,
telegraph poles, with dozen or so arms,
full Of wires, and many other slmliaritles.
The people are different almost every va
riety of costume, civil, military or religious,
Indian and European, of city and country,
will appear i'll the mingled crowds. The
streets in the early morning are overrun
with peddiers, whose cries are peculiarly
dscordant. In the afternoon the fashion
able people resort to the parks iu Their
carriages along the beautiful drives, which
are in the best part OF the city.
The residences of the city which have
been erected long are almost of one pattern.
They are built right on the street. No
front yards or pleasant, inviting verandas
street door, enter from tins d narrow uaii
which goes back the width of one room
to an open court. The house makes Il hol-
low square, with a porch all around the
patio or inner court; upon this porch all
the rooms of the house open, indeed, is the
hallway of the place. The yard within has
flowers, often a fount2m playing, and it
furnishes to the dwellers all the outing they
have except, of course, phen they so on the
street. One answer is sufficient to all ques-
tons about this plan of building, the mar
row grated windows and the heavily set
doors and strong faStenlngS-thc reVo-
lulonS which were once so common Ill
Mexico. 1t was necessary for each man
house to be his fort and defense i'll the
times when no man knew his friends and
no one regarded the government as stable.
Mexico has very few fires. the houses
being so constructed that there is little
danger of their being DESTROYED by fire.
For the last year there has been only one
destructive fire. This is a wonderful record
when we consider the equipment OF the fire
brigade. | think the MeXlcans must be
ashamed of their fire engines, or else their
hearts are not moved by red shirts. gaudy
uniforms, helmets, hose reels and brightly
siivered steam engines. In asking admis-
sion, which was denied me, as | stood ut
the door of the engine house, | could see
the one poor little engine, which Cap Joyner
would have laughed to Sec-thiS old relic,
like Blue Dick, standing there, claiming
to be able to pump out any fire in Mexico.
I have never been able to decide why the
ancient Aztecs wanted to end so many of
their words with the consonants I'll We
have chocolate. Popocatapetl. Nochitl, TX
taccihhuatl Mexitl, Teoxihutl, MiNcoat,
taccihuatl. metl. ncutl, cuartl, teponaztl,
ahutnhtl. axayacatl and many others which
nobody can pronounce, yet all have pretty
or Il clear meaning when once explained.
Those Indians were children OF nature, SIM
pie. but with twisted tongues.
4 noted missionary to Mexico has thus
clearly summed up the moral state of af-
fairs:
This is transition epoch in the history
of the country. A half century of strug-
gle with foreign domination and with ecce
sasticism, resulting i'll the apparently firm
establishment of a republic and the COM