Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-03
ON THE RIO BRAVO.
A Glance at the Picturesque
Texas Border.
WHILE INTENSELY RELIGIOUS
The People Are Filled WITH Superstition and
Are Densely ignorant.
The Cross of Life. of Death. of JOY and
Woe, Crosses Everywhere for
Everything-How They Eat and
What They Eat-An Oasis.
WHILE INTENSELY RELIGIOUS
Romantic Rio Bravo.

Romantic Rio Bravo.
! Special to the Gazette.
AUSTIN, Tex, Feb. 27.-To take a look
along the picturesque Texas border of the
romantic Rio Bravo is like getting glimpse
\ Of one vast changing panorama, teemlng
with sights TO inspire the behol-
| der with the keenest interest, and
! 10 attempt in couple OF short
| letters, 10 tel of the peculiarities of place
and people is almost like an effort to con-
| dense the contents of a well-flled book
within the brief pages of its preface.
In my last letter to The GAZETTE l put
| into print some of the pictures of that Pc
culiar country over which Texas claims do
ninion, yet which in its every character
istic is foreign, which hardly knows there
is such thlrg as the commonwealth OF
| Texas, which in its ignorance and its care
less independence could hardly be made to
! realize the existence OF national govern
ment of the United States of America.
Those pictures once put before the public,
scores others just as interesting, present
themselves before my mind and 1 can see
one vast gallery OF scenes and situations
which need but the framework of great
newspapers forms to command the atten-
ton and the interest of the public. The
more they see l am sure the more they viii
hunger for.
Speaking of hunger brings to the surface
a subject that l touched on in my last letter
to The GAZETTE: What these people eat,
how they prepare it and how they eat IL.
As 1 have before said the principal diet
of these simple citizens IS corn. 1t Is more
often than not paid to Them as wages for
work done. Sometimes it is raised by
themselves, but in whatever way they get
it, they seem to know but one way to pre-
pare it for food. Mills they have none,
and doubt if they would patronize them if
they were accessible, any more than many
of hon n q OI y
forked stick for u plow and take to that
Yankee invention of steel, with which their
more progressive neighbOrS break up the
ground when they cultivate the soil. The
corn is ground as they need 1t for each
meal, and the process consists simply in
rubbing it vigorously between two rocks,
the primitive machine being known as a
"matat." The lower stone is fiat, with
shallow concave in the upper surface and
the grinding IS done with a long stone
which is grasped by one end and used as a
pestle.
1t is rare treat to participate in dinner
prepared in one of these lOwly borderland
houses. One cannot fail to enjoy it, and l
am sure the experience will be as novel and
interesting to the readers of TIE GAZETTE
as it was TO me.
Not liking the prospect of being smoked
alive, select as my dining parlor one OF
the houses which has g chimney. 1t is
the chimney is work Of art, for these
people, when they have chimney at an,
seem to take as much pride in it as they Go
in their hats, when they exert themselves
in that direction. The chimney is modelled
like a telescope a big cube, covering
square at least Sxo feet, rests on the ground,
and smaller cubes Surmount 1t until the
apex Is crowned by graceful circular cap,
which rests on short and slender round sup
ports, through which the smoke escapes.
The fireplace, capacious and inviting, is
carved into the face OF the big base cube,
and the wide opening which extends up
through the others TO the apex makes
famous draft
The miserable little shanty which is built
against this chimney, scarcely large enough
to inclose the fireplace is called ''jacal."
pronounced '.hahkell"). The lord of the
mansion stands laZily in the sun outside,
dividing his attention between covert
inventory of your outfit and an almost futile
effort to keep couple OF gaunt dogs from
flying at your throat, while his wife, qui-
city and apparently well content with her
lot, moves about in her preparation OF din
ner. The children of the happy pair are
abundant, from the dirty faced baby in its
rough board cradle, swung by stout cords
from the roof in the further corner, to the
round-cheeked, glossy-haired girl OF twelve
who is helping about the fireplace. The
corn is ground, mixed to a paste, with
water, and being patted out into fat daubs
between the hands, is put on the fire in
skillet to come OF in few moments, smok-
ing hot, and smelling very inviting indeed
to hungry man. These corn cakes are the
far-famed Mexican ''tortillas" pronounced
''torteeyo"), and they with pot of
'frijoles' pronounced ''free-holies')
which are nothing but brown beans cooked
up into musky mess, constitute the first,
last and only course to be served at this
dinner, though the frIjoleS may be fanked
with q chunk of meat, if the family larder
is in good condition, in which event the dish
comes under the head of ''frijole-con-carne''-
or if the meat happens to be good, "frijole-
ccn-chiVo.n Red pepper of course figures
conspicuously in all the Dishes and TO the
uneoucated palate, literally spoils them all.
Usually no table is used, but as there is
guest in the house, one is brought forth on
this occasion. Itconsists of
THREE SHORT BOARDS
nailed together and set on blocks, raising it
about four inches from the floor Benches
are drawn up around and down you sit,
with your knees projecting over the table.
Both the benches and the table are unusual,
for on ordinary occasions your entertainers
squat around on their heels and eat from
the floor.
Dishes9 Eat from the pots and frying
pans the dinner is cooked in. Knives and
L
of Injuries. II you would learn how to eat
Just watch your host. He siezes tortila,
folds its two edges together, and forms a
ladle with which he deity scoops into the
pot and transfers load of friioles to his
mouth. A mouthful of frijoles and a bite
from the side of the tortiilo ladle, and so,he
progresses, replacing his scroop with new
one when it is too far eaten to be Of further
service. The meal progresses, and you find
yourself scooping into the triioles with the
rest of them, while you tear an occasional
bite from CHUNK of dripping, steaming
meat clutched in your left fist.
The average Mexican is not heavy
eater and the meal is soon over. Your host
would get fat on three or four tortilas, a
handful of friioles, and cigarette.
The daily fare of the average inhabitant
of this country would fall far below such
as have just described, as the dinners of
some of the lordly ranch owners would de-
part from it TO the other extreme.
have in my mind one ranch in this sec
ton which embraces over million acres,
extending more than fifty miles from border
fence to fence The home of the owner is
q modern palace, its surrounding Enclosures
a blooming garden, veritable oasis in the
desert. Constant watering keeps the grass
green, and spendthrift flowers fling their
lavish perfume on the lazy breeZe5 which
finger among the budding branches of the
trees. Dusty, traTel-stained, sun-burned
and weary. the w2yfarer comes upon this !
bit of earthly paradise like one who wakes
from -raarr1 Of GaSrair m find himself 4