The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-11
A JAG OF PULoUE IS HEAVY
A DRINK WILL FILL ONES VISION
WITH SEA SERPENTS.
stephen Crane Describes the Hor-
rOrs of PuIque and Registers a
Few Eloquent VOws-Inebriety I'm
the City of Mexico.

rOrs of PuIque and Registers a
Few Eloquent VOws-Inebriety I'm
the City of Mexico.
Copyright
City OF Mexico. Aug. 4-The first thine
to be done by the investigating tourist
Of this country IS to begin TO drink the
national beverage, pulque. The second
thing to be done by the investigating tom
rist is to cease to drink pulque. This last
recommendation, however, is Necessary -
no one. The human inclination acts an
tomaticaliy. so to speak. in this case. II
the great drunkard of the drama sbould
raise his right hand and swear solernn,,,
never to touch another drop of intoxicat-
ing pulQue as long as he Iived-so bel,
him-heaven-he would make himself ri
diculous. 1t would be too simple WIN,
should a man ever taste another dron %
pulque after having once conided win 80
But this does not relate to the Mex
leans. This relates to the foreigner who
brings with him numerous superstitto,s
and racial, fundamental traditions con-
corning odors. To the foreigner. the ,,or,.
proximity of a glass of pulque is enough
to take him up by the hair and throw, hin,
Violently to the ground.
1t resembles green milk. The svoro..
man has never seen green milk, but il
ne can imagine handful of paris green
lnterpolated into a glass of cream. he viii
have a fair idea of the appearanco ~ ~
puIque. And 1t tastes like-it tastes lilxaN
some terrible connection of bad Yeast -
maps. Or maybe some calamity of egas
inis, bear in mind. represents the mir
ION OF stranger As far as the antago-
nlsm OF the human stomach goes h.
can De no doubt but that puloue baar-
about the same relation to the uninitistaS
sense as does American or any kind 80
beer. But the first encounter is a re,aio
lauon. one understands then that educo-
ton is everything, even as the nbiloso-
plers say ana that we would all be eat
ing sandwiches made from doormats -
only circumstances had been differsnt -
To the Mexican, pulque is a delirium ~
JOY. Inc lower classes dream of ,,u1oua
1here are pulque shops on every corna,
IN some quarters. of the city And 1ineJ
up at the bar in conventional fashion. the
natives may be seen at all times valIiro,
thirsty sentences at the barkeepers Tbosee
pulque shops are usually decorated botb
inside and out with the real old paintings
done on the walls by the hand of some
unknown criminal. Looking along tba
pale walls of the streets, one is startled
at every corner by these sudden 1lirid in
terjections of pulque green, red, blue. vel.
low. The pulque is served in little brown
earthen mugs that are shaped in minera-
ture precisely like one of the famous lars
of the Orient.
The native can get bowling full for
anything from y cents to 20 cents. Twelve
cents is the equivalent in American coin
age OF about cents. Many men of cello
brated thirsts in New York would consider
this a profoundly ideal condition. How
ever cents represents something to the
Indian. Unless there are some Ameri-
cans around to be robbed, he is Obliged IN
rustic very savagely for his pulque money
Nhen ne gets it he is happy and the
straight line he makes for one of the fam
ing shops has never been outdone by any
metropolitan iceman that drinks. In the
meantime the swarm of pulque saloons
are heavily taxed, and the aggregate
amount OF their payments TO the govern
ment is almost incredible. The Indian in
his dusty cotton shirt and trousers. his
tattered sombrero, his tapping sandals,
his stolid dark face, is of the same tyne
in this regard that is familiar to every
land, the same prisoner, the same VIC
tim.
In riding through almost any part OF
this high country you will pass acre
after acre, mile after mile, of Cen
tury' plants laid out in rows that stretch
always to the horizon whether it is at the
hazy edge of a mighty plain or at the
summit of rugged and steep mountain
You wonder at the immensely of the thing
Haciendas will have their thousands OF
acres planted in nothing but the maguey
or as the Americans call it, the Century
plant The earth is laid out in one ire
mendous pattern, maguery plants in long
sweeping perspective.
Wen, 1t is from this plant that the na-
tives make pulque
Pulque is the juice taken from the heart
OF the maguey and allowed to ferment for
one DAY. After that time it must be con-
sumed within twenty-four hours or it is
positively useless. The railroads that run
through the principal maguey districts OPP
Grated fast early morning pulque trains in
much the same fashion that the roads that
run through Orange county, New York,
operate early morning milk trains to New
YORK. From the depots it is hustled in
wagonsand on the backs of porters to the
innumerable saloons and from thence dis
pensed to the public
Mescal and tequila are wo native rivals
Of pulque Mescal is a sort of cousin of
whisky, although to the eye it is as clear
as water, and tequila is to mescal as
brandy is to whisky. They are both wrung
from the heart of the maquey plant In
a low part of the country where puque
cannot be produced the natives use mes
cal LOT TINS beverage is, of course, capa-
bic of long Journeys, and where a native
can get pulque he usually prefers it.
The effects of pulque as witnessed in
the natives, does not seem to be so pyr-
otechnic and clamorous as are the effects
of certain other drinks upon the citizens
OF certain other nations. The native
hlled with pulque seldom wishes to fight
Usually he prefers to adore his friends.
They will hang together in front of a
bar, three or four of them, their legs bend
ing, their arms about each others necks,
thelr races lit with an expression of the
most ideal affection and supreme broth
erly regard. 1t would be difficult to make
an impression on their feeling at these
tlines with club. Their whole souls are
completely absorbed in this beatific fra
ternal tenderness.
Stili' there are certain mixtures, certain
combinations which invariably breed
troubles. Let the native mix his pulque
at hree cents a glass with some of that
VIVID native brandy and there is likely
TO be monstrous turmoil on little or no
Int aN