Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1893-05-11
WHERE BEeeARs THRIVE.
Mexican Poverty Extremely Picturesque
to a Casual Observer.

Chief among the many pulling eues-
tions with which my childish mind whiled
away the weary half hour of a Sunday
/ morning sermon, was the existence of
beggars in Bible days. pictured Pales-
tine to myself as land oftemples, tombs
and gardens, inhabited by beggars and
| Pharisees. Born and reared in the pros
porous west, poverty such as the scriptural
tales dimly suggested was to me thing
as vague as the He'll of the same records,
fairy tale far more unreal than the sleep
ing palace or the caves of Aladdin. Now,
the puzzle is solved, have seen poverty,
have been to Mexico, l understand
Palestine. can almost believe in horn
ed Satan and fire and birthstone.
To casual observer Mexican poverty
is extremely picturesque. 1t is not an
imitation of respectability such as the
humblest American will attempt, but it
is humanity III rags and nakedness, too
often i'll sores, almost always in dirt
There, begging is a trade, the occupation
of all the poorer population. Beggars
iuiest the railroad stations at the interior
towns, and a motley array it is. They
are OF all sexes, conditions and ages, with
aud without sores, the lame, the halt, and
the blind Babies in arms holding out
dirty little hands for "centavo," old
women, young women, healthy little
boys, crippled grandfathers all whining
to the same tune i'll their mongrel Spanish
For the love of God, Senorita, give me
a cent"
Give them centsl poured them
out upon them. Never had copper
seemed of so much value. l luxuriated
i'll their delight. bought out the porter,
the newsdealer and the conductor to
| satisfy the want that never could be salts
fed; for there is a friendly feeling among
these unlortunates, and when they find
one who will give, they spread the glad
tidings among all their class, and indeed
| suspected them of having discovered
some peculiar way of ftelegraphing the in
formation to the next station, so besieged
was l for charity.
Some tourists who had been in the
country before eudeavored to impress me
with the fact that was encouraging idle
ness, but who would not be idle when the
sun was hot and water luxury and even
for labor, money was not forthcoming.
They must live To live they must eat,
and it seems to me that in the more DESC
late portion of the country, to eat, they
must beg.
Very picturesque were they seen from
the car window in the soft gloom of the
southern night, their dark eyes cleaning
like stars under their quaint hat or still
more primitive head dress, their white
teeth glittering as the musical Spanish
rippled forth in compliments calculated
to appeal to the generosity of the senorita
who seemed to them small sized Provi-
dence, Iii the cruel glare of the sun de-
fects became evident, and one saw the
coarseness in the squalor and dirt. still
never did they cease to be poetic. They
harmonized so perfectly with the back
ground of cloudless sky, antique build
ings, and tropical verdure. There was
beauty even i'll their very ugliness which
was plea for their existence and in re-
membering the pleasantest journey of
my life l shall always have a very tender
recollection of the beggars of Mexico
EdiM NJ. Day in Le1Ois 81 Dyyden's S
RaiiSoay and Marine Gazefte.