The Bemidji pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minn.) 1896-1917, 1896-04-30

i III /
| climate as our own little ones. fheys
are all artists Of one sort Or another
| They love music, and more than that
| are born with clever fingers esDeclaily
| adapted to the sculptors work. Iney
! are indeed marvellous nodeiel's 1he
| wee brown fingers OF the Mexican
/ babies mold the Mexican mud INTO
/ babies darker than themselves and
1 very little children pinch and pat and.
4 poke moist clay on wax into statueftes
to he sold in the market places II
/ Here in the public bazars the poorer
4 children spend great deal Of their
time. They peddle the little clay and
/ wax figures which their tiny hanas
have made; they hawk flowers ana
4 barter magnificent fruits Tor copper
/ coins. and they rush after YOU, catch
Won by the skirt and lure you back 70
i their parents booths. AS a rule they
4 know one English sentence-"Give me
4 penny"
III their devotion to music they seem
To emulate the birds themselves. This
! is the unique charm whereby they pay
back the little feathered Warblers Tor
song.
4 When the day first breaks in at the
window Of n Mexican home the head
i OF the houses CALAMITY welcomes u
! BY leaDing out of bed. Ii he is very
4 old or feeble he ut least manages 70
i lift himself from his pillow, and then
4 he begins to sing q song OF praise. Y, ~
i Il priest happens to be staying IN the
4 house, then it is he who starts Inc Sa-
cal symphony. But whoever begins y,
4 all the household catches II up, me
wife. the grown children. the hal1-
III, f1,xAg
i and even the servants join in this SIM
4 lie melody OF praise. Out beyond the
i cabins. The adobe huts or the richly
4 carved palace, the hewers of wood, the
i drawers Of water, the tenders OF grain
i or of flowers join in the morning
i chorus. But sweetest of all those Mex
4 lean notes, rings the treble pipe Of the.
/ Mexican baby voice " n y5gsl ..s5
4 Mexican children used to be trained
to two industries in which they no
longer engage. These were running
and diving for coins, but both these
4 daring and remunerative sports are
now prohibited by law. Not long ago
/. a goodly number of boys We're trained
4 to run almost MS soon as they could
4 toddle alone. They inherited supple
4 hips. strong thighs, tireless legs and
4 nimble feet from their remote and
7. their nearest ancestry When they
1 grew to manhood, reaching also pro-
4 fessional perfection, they joined a
4 corps which formed the only reliable
messenger service Of Mexico. Those
/ men often ran $50 miles in four and q
half days They made round trips OF
4 700 miles in nine days, for which they
were paid by $50 or $50 in Mexican
Y silver dollars But the old Mexican
| u J,ai ms
oycrWork, and the authorities arc wise
enough to have suppressed a liveli-
hood that invariably proved suicidal
Exchange.
What One Bright Girl Did.
An agreeable field for moneymaking
is one which Lillian G has found,
or rather into which Lillian walked
one summer morning On her way 70
Il school she had to pass the house OF
. two very dear old ladies', who lived
by themselves, md pottered about in
Il 4 very pretty old-fashioned garden.
Miss Betsey and Miss Annie were fond
of the bright girls who two or three
times day walked pas their door on
"a the way to and from their class
rooms. md they had their favorites
among them. often stopping Lily. for
Il instance, and giving her a flower or
two to fasten into her buttonhole
One morning Lily observed that
Miss Betsey CROPPED a little aud felt
about with her stick, instead Of step
ping briskly around the garden as she
used to do.
"My sister, confded Miss Annie to
her, lis growing blind. we went to
DR.. NJ yesterday, and he confirmed
4 our fears. 1t is a cataract, and 1t CALI
not be operated on for long time.
n What poor Betsey will do l don't
4 know, for reading has been her great
occupation and her one pleasure. /
cannot read to her, for it hurts my
throat to read aloud
let me come every afternoon, dear
Miss Annie" said Lillian. FIJI read
to Miss Betsey from four to five every
day, and on Saturdays Ill come twice
an hour in the morning and another
in the afternoon. | can do it Just as
easilyr'
Miss Annie's fact lightencd. You
sweet child!'' she said. IF you will
come, and your mother will let you,
Betscy and will pay you 81 week
for reading to us both. "-Harpera
Round Table.
+ The Strange story of Ring.
1t is stated upon what appears 10 be
good authority that in one of the
parks Of the Spanish capital city Of
| Madrid 4 magnificent ring hangs by
silken cord about the neck Of the stat
! lie Of the Maid of Almodma. the pat
ron saint of Madrid This ring, though
set with diamonds and pearls, is new
ertheless entirely unguarded. The
police pay no special attention to It.
nor is there any provision made for
watching it by special officers, because
it is not believed that any thief, how
ever daring, would venture to appro-
pirate it to his own use, and when the
history of the ring is considered, it Is
hardly to be wondered ut that Il SIT
perstitious people prefer to give It
wide berth. According to the, story
that is told Of it, the ring was made
for King Alfonso NIL, the father OF