The morning news., 1897-02-10
FAR PAST THE CENTURY.
A WONDERFUL OLD WOMAN IN A
LITTLE MEXICAN VILLAGE.
Sonora LugardO de soto Aged 100
Years and Seven MOnths-Five Gem
eratiOns OF Her Descendants LiN-
ing-The World She Lives miller
Love For Tobocco


Los Angeles, Gala wonderful old wo-
man lives in the little Mexican village of
San Miguel, among the foothills and
mountains in San Bernardino county, in
Southern California. She is Sonora Lu-
gardo de Soto. Her age is 100 years and
seven months. Many people believe she is
the most intelligent and active person of
her age to be found anywhere. When her
10th birthday comes next July, it has
been proposed by all the Mexican families
for miles about San Miguel to celebrate
the anniversary by an all-day festival
among the eucalyptus trees and in the
orchards on the De Soto ranch.
Sonora Lugardo de Soto was born July
10, 1851 in Guadalajara, Mexico. She has
in her family Spanish Bible detailed rec
ord of her family since 17iO to prove her
claim of extreme old age. Her grandchil-
dren recently examined the musty and
yellow baptismal records in the ancient
cathedral at Guadalajara, and found that
as Lugardo Pamelio Sepulvida she was
baptized there on Sept. Is, 1857 Many old
Mexican people in Southern California re-
member distinctly when Mrs. de Soto's
eightieth anniversary was celebrated, and
how, when she reached century of life,
she settled beyond dispute her remarkable
physical strength by walking with her
! great-grandson through a Spanish square
dance. The old lady was able to walk fire.
quently about her grandson's foothill
ranch until a few years ago. The day she
was iOf years old she walked half a mile
10 her great. great granddaughter home,
| ate dinner there, and rode back at early
evening, with but little fatigue
rheumatism has slowly crippled her
since then, and now she is seldom out of
doors. She is otherwise in excellent ply
sical condition for one of her extraordi-
nary age and in this mild semi-tropical
climate, with good care, it seems likely
| that she may live to be more than lis
years. She attributes her long life to an
out-ot-door existence all her days to a
| naturally good constitution, to daily work
| on ranch. and to constant cheerfulness
! and no worry from her earliest childhood
She has been married happily three
| times, and has been the mother of seven
teen children, all whom she says were
| good to their parents. She has been a
! smoker for more than ninety years. and
| to moderate use of tobacco she attri-
| butes in part her long life. Like a large
| majority of Mexican women, Sonora De
| Soto learned the seductive charm of we'll
| cured tobacco when a girl. She says she
| does not remember a day except occa-
sionally when ill in bed, that she has
| not smoked from that time to this Six
| plpefulS of Zacatecas, black tobacco is
| now her daily portion-two in the morn
| ing, one in the afternoon, and three in
| the evening. When she was somewhat
| younger-say, thirty or forty years ago
| she used to smoke much more and occa-
| sionally Joined in whiting cigars that her
husband or son would roll for her She
| is captious as to the quality of her to-
| bacco, and her grandson Ga man of 81
| years. says he long ago learned that it
would not do to try to palm off on her any
| American brand of tobacco for that from
the plains of Zacatecas, Mexico to which
| she has been accustomed for al least eight
decades. So, regularly every year an or
| der is given to a Mexican merchant at
| Tia Juana, in Lower California, near San
Diego, for so many pounds of Zacatecas
arroya tobacco to make sure of the seno-
ra's certain supply.
Sonora de Soto comes from a long-livcd
| family. Her mother was born in BARGE
Iona, Spain, in 1860, and died in the City
| of Mexico in 1851. She had a sister who
lived SO years and brother who was
| upward of 81 when he died. She has
| three sons living. The neighbors in San
Miguel say it is worth going many miles
to see Sonora de Soto and the oldest rep
resentative of each generation of her pro-
geny gathered together. The old lady
| sits at one end of big, long couch in
| the homestead. Next comes the son, Ig-
| nacio, who is 50, while-haired wrinked
and bent with age Next to him is Ig-
nacloS son, Lorenzo, some sixty-odd years
| old AT his side sits Mrs. Odella Vejar
| who is great-granddaughter of the Sc
| nora and the eldest niece of Lorenzo Next
in line sits Mrs. WEARS son, Ramon, a
| great, Strapping, black-eyed and brown
skinned young man, holding his infant
child Mrs de Soto's great-great-great
grandchild on his knees. There are six
| generations together-a circumstance that
| may not be found elsewhere i'm the union
| The many descendants of the old ladv
| are very proud of her. Her every wish Is
| anticipated. Her descendants are farm
ers, sheep herdeds, and fruit growers, or
! mothers of families scattered throughout
| Los Angeles, Orange, San Barnardino and
| santa barbara counties. Each of the
| graneSMldren and great-grandchildren
| goes, at least once year. to see the aged
mother of their race. In the aggregate
! the old lady has living eighty-seven de-
| scendants, as follows: Three sons, two
| daughters, eighteen grandchildren, forty
two great-grandchildren, twenty great
| great grandchildren and three great
| great-grea t-grandchildren.
| The old lady looks like person of 80
| years of age. She is very wrinkIed but
she has good flesh. Her eyes are remark
ably clear, and her hands while thin and
| shriveled, have none of the trembling of
very aged people. She is growing deaf
very fast, and it worries her. She sleeps
twelve hours out of the twenty-four No
matter how indisposed she may be- she
| feels it reflection upon her If any one
wants TO help feed her.
+, mo child" she will say in Spanish. st
| shall never let anybody put food In nv
mouth or fill my pipe for me as long as
| am able to get about"
The senora's keen appetite is the foun-
I datiou rock of her unusual strength and
good health. She eats rice every day. rel
ishes meat cooked in chiles (as the Span
ish always prepare iO, and wants chicken
| or duck at least once a week. She has as
/ decided fondness for candy as any child,
aand she always welcomes the visitor who
| has a package of sweetmeats for her. She
| has the love of all Spanish and Mexican
| people for flowers and for hours she will
| sit at the low window In her room and
gaze at the flowers blooming in the gar
| den about the house.
She reads her Spanish prayerbook very
/ slowly and piecemeal every day, and saws