The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1896-04-24
I'm OLD MEX"
Continued from page ~

think exist III the world. BLACK eyes are
a Mexican specialty--they do not have
much of anything else in the way OF eyes.
That promenade will remain with some
of the members of the association for
years to come. Promptly at one o'clock
the exhibition ends, the awnings are re-
moved, carpets are taken up, and seats
distributed. 1t is queer custom, but
certainly very interesting to the stranger,
and seems to be very popular with the
natives.
We visited Chepultepec, the White
House of the republic, being given per-
init to 90 through it. 1t is the summer
home of the president, who is at present
living in the palace in the city. 1t is To-
Gated on high hill and gives superb
view of the city and valley. The way to
it is by the Boulevard of the Reformer, a
most inagnifcently laid out street, with
row of bronze statues and vases on
either side, and beautiful monuments at
several of the intersections. Part of the
way the viaduct built to supply the city
with water when the present site of the
city was a lake of salt water, still stands
by the side of the road. 1t has been used
until quite recently, but has at last been
superseded by iron pipes.
The theatres of Mexico are conducted
in a way that seems peculiar to us; when
you buy ticket you buy for only one
act At the end of that act the ticket
seller passes around and supplies those
who wish to stay longer, with tickets for
the next act, and so on to the end OF the
play. 1t was very convenient for our
party with the limited time at our dispo-
sal. We were enabled to sample several
theatres i'm q single evening.
The death rate by violence in the City
of Mexico will seem large to Michigan
readers. The annual report that has just
been published, we were told, contained
the information that death by violence
occurred on the average once in twenty
hours, the total being four hundred and
fifty for the year. The central part of
the CITY is kept wonderfully clean, and
that in spite of the fact that the pave
ments are none of the smoothest. The
work is done in primitive fashion, with.
broom, dustpan and cart, but labor is
cheap, and the work is well done, for if
the Mexican is obliged to work cheap he
works well. The porter will jog along
with heavy burdens at a rate of speed
that will bother his employer to keep up
with him. 1t is the custom OF these por-
tiers to carry long sling made of heavy
cloth; they place their loads on their
backs with the sling, supporting it from
their foreheads. Porters carrying heavy
bags of grain will not, like the northern
custom, place them on their shoulders,
but leaning over at almost right angle,
allow the bag to be laid across their hips,
then grasping it with both hands, they
start off with it at shutting trot to the
point of unloading.
One of the great industries of Mexico
seems to be the manufacture of 'pulque."
1t is to the Mexican what beer is to the
American. 1t is produced by fermenting
the juice of the maguey plant, species
of the century plant. Immense fields of
these plants are seen from the car win
dows. Like the corn-felds of the north
west they are planted in regular rows,
but the plants are from six to eight feet
apart. They require seven years to ar
rive at the proper age to bloom, and it is
in that year that they produce the juice
from which pulque is made. AS soon as
the bud is formed it is removed, leaving
in the center of the plant cup like
a huge bowl into which the juice of the
plant is allowed to collect. The plants at
this time are about nine feet high. A
native with bag made of a whole sheep
gourd in his hand collects this milk-like
juice. He places the small end of the
gourd in the cup, and with his lips at the |
larger end exhausts the air from the |
gourd, which vacuum is filled by the |
Juice which he transfers to his bag. |!
When the bag is filled it is carried to the |
supply barrels, where it is allowed to
stand and ferment, and from which it is
shipped to the dealers when the proper
stage of fermentation has been reached,
q fact that has to be figured out rather |
accurately, as pulque is at its best for |
only one day Prior to that day it is call |
ed "pulque DOLCE" or sweet pulque, and |
is quite catbartic. When the fermenta-
ton has passed the proper stage the pull
que is considered unfit for use. A taste |
for pulque must of necessity be an &C
quired one. The verdict of the Michigan |
contingent was that it could best be du- |
plicated by mixing sour milk with yeast. |
1t is useless to say that pulque was not |
popular amongst them.
The sheep skin bag, in which the maguey |
juice is collected is made from the whole |
skin of the animal, and apparently has no
seams in 1t. a fact that caused many to |
wonder how the skin was removed from the |
sheep-an explanation was of course i'm
mediately forthcoming; but as 1t seemed to
bear traces of having originated with the |
"Ananias Club" it was not very generally |
credited. Here 1t is: The sheep is tied to |
q tree by cord fastened to its tail, and he !
Is allowed te remain three or four days |
without food; an incision through the skin |
Is then made all around his neck just be- |
hind his ears, and food is placed before him, |
but just beyond his reach; his anxiety to |
get at the food causes him to walk right out |
Of his skin.
On the Goth, we started from the city of |
Mexico for Pueblo, upon reaching which, |
we took street cars to the Pyramids-there |
are three Of them. They rise from the level |
plain, and the largest Is said to have a base
larger than those of Egypt. 1t is not, how
over, quite as high; they are quite evidently,
works of hand, but whose hands no one
Nving, knows. On the top of the larger one |
there stands beautiful cathedral-of course |
II is hard to find spot of any note that is |