Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-23

| MSIefS@ES1E in Batopilas and the
! adjoining towns, in
| - the sense of the word
| as 1t is used here in Washington" said Mrs.
| Shepherd. There is no round of social
| duties tc fatigue and occupy ones time to
| the exclusion of all else. We are eight days
| from Chihuahua. the capital city of the
state, which bears the same name, and the
| nearest railroad town of any consequence.
| To give you some idea of the Isolation of
| Batopilas. and our own home, it means
| three days by stage and five days on mule
| back to reach Chihuahua, averaging eight
or nine hours in the saddle. The mountain
| scenery is magnificent, but it hardly re-
pays for the arduouS fatigue of such
journey.
| The town of Batop.las itself. near which
our hacienda is situated, has only about
1000 Inhabitants and is located on river
! of the same name-a mountain stream. low
and quiet nine months in the year. but
sometimes rising to a mighty torrent in the
| rainy season. A late freshet in that sec,
| ton carried away over two hundred small
homes. These homes are mere shantfes,
| vita palm matched roofs and sides form
| ed of interlacing boughs, in some instances
covered with mud. And yet, owing to the
steady work in the mines. Batopilas is more
| advanced and has many more advantages
than other towns in the vicinity.
A Ladies' Church Society.
This old Spanish Mexican town boasts
several stores, town clock and public and
| private schools. from which four or five
native young women have been sent out
| to schools in The United States. 4 ladies'
society is one of the modern institutions.
| through the efforts and labors of which the
old mission church of the place has recently
been repaired and improved
NO; there are no Protestant churches
| nearby, and no theaters nor concert hails'
! even of the crudest description. There are
amateur concerts. muscaleS and dramatic
performances, however, as in other lands,
| but chiefly for the purpose of raising funds
| for some worthy object, as the repairing OF
| the old mission, &c.
| Mexican women are especially fond of
| music and dancing, balls and parties con-
| shutting the only social diversions in which
the women of any class engage. A small
| string band, the only one near, furnishes
| the music for these entertainments.
| 1.-The play and opera being pleasures OF
| which they are denied, incessant balls.
| dancing, reading and, strange as 1t may
| SEEM study of the fashions, form the round
| of amusements INDUCED in by all women
! of the higher classes in that distant and old
! world section Of the country which has now
| been my home for fifteen years. A study OF
1.-THE fashion books furnished them from
| Madrid and Paris is the chief thing lady
| of Batopilas or chihuahua has to occupy
| her idle moments
A Delightful Climate.
| How does my own 1amily amuse ana
| occupy itself? Well, my husband and sons
| are engaged in experimenting the large
| force and work at the mines. while my
| daughters and myself spend many hours
| in sewing and reading and enjoying the
| delightful climate and balmy air by which
! we are surrounded One spend large
| portion of the year outof doors, a method OF
| life conducive to both health and content
| ment, and which my family and myself en-
| joy to the utmost. San Miguel our home in
| Batopilas, is an old Spanish hacienda, large
| and roomy. with many wihGows opening to
| the ground. All the houses have only one
| floor or story, the house and ground being
enclosed by a wall. The climate of Batopi-
| las is delightful, and the winters are charm
| ing. Frost snow are things unseen and
| unknown. and wraps are useless acQuiSi-
| ton to ones wardrobe.
| "Al. classes of people in Old Mexico are
| polite and charitable to each other and are
| wonderfully kind and gentle in manner.
The women are beautiful when very young.
| but age rapidly. The chief occupation of
| the men is mining; they also play cards
| and trade horses. There are picturesque
! scenes alCng the streets OF the town Satur-
| day nights when the men sit In groups
playing cards and various games. All
| classes are apparently happy. The iron
| ing woman or the woman whose occupa-
| tiol is to iron ones clothes, is degree
| higher in the social scale than her friend,
| the washerwoman. The laundry. as it is
| Known to US. is of course, a thing unknown
! IN that portion OIL Ola MEXICO. Inc nietnOQ
| of doing the family wash is as primitive as
picturesque. and would make a pretty pic
| ture If caught 10y the snapshot kodak of
| a wde-awake American. The women stand
| along the river banks just as they do in
! parts of Brittany and Holland, and dip the
| clothes in and out of the running stream.
| while their children and babies roll and
| frolic about in the sand, or perch upon
| the stones. their melting dark eyes and
| slips of bright color making a theme for
| the brush of Miilat If that painter of peas
| ant and outdoor life of the working classes
| were still alive.
| About the Native Women.
| 1.-The women of The working class spend
| much of their time sewing. There are
| many sewing machines, upon which a few
of the native girls do good work These
women also make the earthen jar OLA.
used for holding water. The OLA is por-
Gus and will keep water agreea5ly cool for
| some length of time.
| How do the women dress? Generally in
| a calico skirt and sash of some bright
| color and a 'reboya.' The latter is a dis
4 tinctive feature of the Mexican woman's
dress and is composed of long blue sha wi
| with fringed ends wound about the head
| and shoulders. A black shawl instead of
| the blue reboya is considered more elegant
| and distinguished. Bonnets and hats are
| worn by the upper classes, of course but
| only since the advent of the railroad,
| which has at last penetrated the upper
| portions of the country. We are sur
| rounded In part by the Tacuhamara tribe
| OF Indians, who are quiet and friendly and
| who own a few cattle and sheep The
country is rocky and mountainous, 1eav-
| ing but little land for agricultural pur-
poses. Hence. the American family living
| in the valley must import canned goods,
butter and such staples. So many months
of the year being dry there is also no pas
ture, and consequently cows milk is unob-
| tainable most of the time, goats milk be-
ing the not wholly unpalatable substitute.
| Constant irrigation is necessary for the
| production of any vegetation, and things
grow with difficulty and yield slowly. The
great foundations of ants spoil almost