The Saint Paul globe., 1899-02-12
and the breeze from the river do not
| disturb them.

and the breeze from the river do not
disturb them
PRETTY GIRLS WHO SMOKE
AS you look you cannot help but ad-
mire the typical Paraguayan maiden.
She is so well formed and she walks
like goddess. When young she is as
plump as a partridge in autumn, and
were it not for some of her ways you
might fall in love-
To an American her ractiveness is
spoiled by the use of tobacco. 1 have
thought until now that there was no
greater beauty destroyer than the
gum chewing of the American girl, but
the smoking of cigars as it prevails
among Paraguay women. is far worse.
The Paraguay maiden smokes like a
chimney. She begins to use tobacco
when she begins to wear dresses and
even before. for you may see naked
girls of six. eight and ten with cigars
in their mouths. [ have seen scores
of little girls of seven and eight Smok-
ing cigars almost as big around as
their waists. and as to old women it
is hard to find one out in the country
who does not smoke from morning till
night. / speak, of course of the women
of the common people. Those who are
not actually smoking have cigars be-
without lighting for hours at time
Many make their own cigars, and to-
bacco is so cheap here that you can
get a dozen fairly good cigars for five
cents and leaf tobacco is sold for a
few cents a pound.
THEY ARE BUSINESS WOMEN.
The Paraguay girls remind me of the
| girls of Japan. They look not unlike
! them. The features of many Para
guayans are half-Japanese, and their
luXuriant black hair is of the same
character as that you see in Japan In
the back districts they have the same
delightful disregard for clothing. Very
young girls, as | have said. and often
some of the age of fourteen. wear moth
ing whatever. The Paraguayan wom-
en- are not afraid of strangers. They
are gOod-natured. and will laugh and
joke for you just as readily as the
Yum Yums off the east coast of Asia.
The Japanese women are good busi-
ness women. This is also true of the
Paraguayans. If you would see smart
women traders, come and spend an
hour with me in the market of Asun-
/ cion.
1t is situated in the heart of the city.
1t covers an entire square. and it looks
more like a monastery than a place for
buying and selling. Its roof extends
out over cloisters ten feet wide, and
under it there is a tier Of cells running
| about a hollow court and forming the
walls of the market house proper.
The court, the cells and the cloisters
are filled with women. There are hum
dreds of them all In their bare feet
and many of them squatting on the
bricks with their wares before them.
Others stand behind butcher counters
and others have little tables covered
with vegetables, laces, jewelry, cloth
| ing or shoes.
There are no scales or measures. That
vegetable woman has stock of green
peas. She has arranged them in piles,
| about pint to the pile, and sells by
| eye measure. That butcher woman
behind her Is cutting off meat in great
strips. The customers judge what 1t is
worth by its size and all meat is sold
| by the chunk
AMONG THE BUTCHER WOMEN.
But let us go further into the mar
ket and take a look at the butchers,
! They stand in stalls with pieces of
beef hung upon hooks at the back.
The favorite cut is a strip, and much
OF the meat seems to have been cut
from the animal in sheets so that the
People BUY, as it were, by the yard.
ne usual Hiethod is TO tear or cut the
meat from the animals sides and back
IN layers about half an inch thick, one
layer being cut off after another until
.he Done is reached. The sheets are
thel pung up in the market and sliced
or chopped off as the customer des, res.
Gach customer brings a cloth with her
70 wrap her purchase in, and she car
res her meat or vegetables home in a
basket, box or pan which she rests
upon her head. No market woman
ever furnishes paper or string for her