Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-10-02
MYSTERIOUS VISITORS.
About Forty Alleged Brazilians En-
camped Near the Santa Fe Depot
Poorly Clad and Very Dirty
Their Conflicting Tales.

A day or so ago party of thirty five or
forty men, women and children, including
eight full families, representing them
selves to be native Brazilians, arrived in
Santa Fe er the broad guage in an or
binary passenger coach. The coach was
side-tracked and the party went into
camp near the A., 7. & S. F. depot. The
presence of these strange people in the
city, coupled with the mystery attending
their objects and the conflicting stories
they related as to their future move
ments, naturally excited much curiosity,
and accordingly representative of the
New MEXICAN visited their camp this
morning for the purpose of making in
quiries.
The camp consists of eight rude
shelters made up of ragged and weather
stained wagon sheets, with bundles of
filthy rags for beds and the rudest sort of
appliances for cooking the toughest sort
of food around fires built of faggots on
the ground. The total value of every
thing in sight would hardly be appraised
| by an experienced junk dealer at 800.
Besides full grown men, there are nine
women and sixteen children in the motley
company. Some of the children are only
a few months old. The reporter noticed
one of the infants lying asleep on
bundle of rags 80 stoutly tied up in more
rags that 1t could not possibly move
either arms or legs.
| The people are poorly clad, some not
having enough clothing to cover their
nakedness, and they are all exceedingly
filthy, but apparently happy. Their skins
are as dark as those of Indians, their teeth
as white as ivory and their eyes as bright
as the eyes of birds. Two of the younger
women would really be very pretty if in
PRODUCED to soap, water and clean clothes.
None of them pretend to speak English
and their Spanish is of the mongrel varie-
ty.
The leader or herder of the party gives
his name as Juan Miguel. He is dressed
better than the rest ana carries costly
gold watch and chain, but, while he evil
IDENTIFY knows what he is doing, he declines
to talk much and even when he speaks his
tales are different. Indeed, this is true of
all who were interviewed.
They allege that they left Brazil about
a year ago, and, since landing at New
York, have been slowly drifting west
ward, presumably destined for San Fran
cisco, although some of them said they
were going to Mexico and Miguel init
mated yesterday that he thought of buy
ing horses and settling his colony IN this
locality. When some of the women were
questioned on this point they secuted the
idea of staying here, saying it was too
cold and that they were going to leave at
7 in the morning for California or
Mexico where they would not need "much
dresses"
The men profess to be copper workers
and have copper and tools with which
they make rough kettles and other uten-
sils of copper. The youngest and most
comely looking of the women, with an
exceedingly young and phenomenally
dirty baby in her arms, tells fortunes for
gifts of coin, the operation consisting of
clutching the suckers hands followed by
a few moments of mysterious mumbling;
while the other women yesterday mani
| ieooou u WY Ky PoI-iAhO OoAuoAoJ w OeS
for nickels and dimes about town. This
was stopped by order of Marshal Gold.
Consequently the charming creatures
were all "at home" when the reporter
called this morning.
Whence the strangers came, whittier
they are drifting and what Is their real
mission this deponent is unprepared to
testify further than is above set forth.
1t appears that soon after the reporter
left the Brazillan.gypsy camp this morn
ing war broke out among the inhabitants
thereof, the women and children screamed
bloody murder or words of similar i'm
port and the men savagely pummeled
each other with fists and clubs. 1t is said
that the battle grew out of dispute over
the division of kettle of lard, which was
used Interchangeable for greasing the
hair and the black frying pans, the
women unfortunately dipping their
hands into it for both purposes. Proba-
bly, it would be just as we'll to invite the
uncanny outfit to move on.