The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-12-08
HOUSES BUILT OF TIN CANS
A Queer Settlement Around San An
lOniO'S City GARBAGE Furnace.
San Antonio Correspondence of the st.


around san Antonio Texas, which make
u so attractive to the tourist none is
more Interesting TO the searcher after pic
turesque types and queer pictures Of life
tnan the city's garbage furnace aud the
ittle settlement that surrounds It.
san Antonio is probably the only city
In the country, ana possibly in the world,
mat disposes Of its garbage Ia this way.
II Is burned In an abandoned quarry, aud
the IRE, which was lighted In 1872, has
never been permitted 10 80 out or even
ole down. Day and night the fire has
burned consuming tons upon tons OF the
Guys refuse, until the qusuy. once half
hundred feet deep is filed almost to the
rim OF its cll4-like sides with the ashes
aud tin cans that have beenS backened
out not consumed by the IRE
az uay ana late Into the night the oity's
FaIudBG burner, an aged Mexican, whose
t9ng white beard and little round hat give
MoIld OF iairles and his assistants, other
NItAIGahs' nave prodded the great FIRE, stir
id dg u anu shaking It up with pitchforks
cooking n the cloud of smoke by dan
ana the lurd glare Of the pillar Of ire by
llght, Ike demons stirring the neyer.dying
nIeS OF the neither world.
ana an about this burning quarry is \
seluemeht whose match for picturesque In
teFest ana quaint prlmitiNeness Is not to
ee found this side Of the mountains of
MtAlco aud Spain. Here live the Mexican
squallerS VINO exc out precautions bus
none the less happy existence BY helping
at Tue garbage ire or breaking the refuse
tock from the quarries, which Is the clty'S
contribution TO their support.
The garbage furnace is an abandoned
quarry. one Of many upoA land owned by
lae municipality near IT'S northern limits.
Inc quarry rights are leased TO a cement
manuiactur.ng company In one of the
deep holes blasted out in the years gon,
~ Mayor Patchai ten ycKra ago inaugu-
rated the present system of burning fne
saIpase lhen the quarry WAS probably
nifty feet deep. All around it rose the
Whlte cliffs of limestone rock 10 this
space go the garbage carts which collect
tne refuse from all over the cty--aud in
parentbesis It may be said that the collec-
Ton is not a Ia Butler. nut is bona dde
the cart that fails 10 visit your house ut
sanitary department IS hned 81 for every
delinquency, upon your report aud an eX-
IRA cart whose owner benefits by the 81
nne, Is sent for your garbage
Every afternoon long line Of blue carts
may be seen winding over the tortuous
road that leads to the quarries. The road
cIpitous ascent into the furnace quarry.
One is made aware of the approach to
this long before II is reached by the pun
gent odor Of smoke Then he sees. rising
above the mills. the gray cloud that sug.
geSts the crater Of a volcano
sharp turn and the visitor comes upon
the strange scene, and wonders whether
ne mas stepped into the page of n talr,
book. Ahead of him is semi-circle Of
nre and smoke, and outlined against the
white clih on the other side are the black
ngureS OF the gnomes who attend this
nre, bent diminuuve silent. plying their
pitchtorks in the smoking mass
The chief garbage burner approaches pc
litely, hat In hand, and greets you in the
Mexican patolS that passes current for
Spanish here He, too, hds a ptchfork,
hut 1t Is carried more as ii badge of Office
than for use, since the city garbage burner
is king in his own smoking, rock-bound
realm. He has servants VINO attend TO his
IRE, and. Ike the vassuls OF old, they pay
him for the privilege. TO the poor Mexican
the chance 10 search through the garbage is
a boon. wrinkled old woman, whose
faded black shawl mantilla leaves nothing
but her parchment face exposed comes reg
ularly every morning to my garbage pail
and selects such dainues ~ as suit her
fancy. And the men who keep the fires
burning in the garbage quarry are glad to
pay Pedro Alguin for privilege Of turning
over the stuff, Sitting out what may be
converted to their use. Who knows how
many valuable articles they find?
II Jewel Is accidentally dropped into
the garbage pail or swept out of the house
with other refuse its CLINT catches the
eye of the garbage burner, and 1t is his.
The chief garbage burner asks no CUES.
tiurs Tor he is ocnteII with SStt Ia
tribute of his vassalS One other source
of revenue he h1s--the skins of dead AMI
mails These are carefully removed.
tanned after the primitive Mexican meth
cd and used in the making of shoes, In
Viii certain Of the race are remarkably
proficient.
All about the garbage quarry is little
city, which attracts the eye on account of
Its quaintnesS, There are jacalS-McXlcan
for a little house-which are constructed
almost entirely Of tin cans, which lie about
the quarry In vast heaps. The Mexican con-
structs rude framework of poles and GOV.
ers il with the tin Of unified cans The
chimney may be built up from broken rock
and adobe, or the builder may carry. out
the tin can idea completely by using large
cans fastened together as a duc for the
smoke of his little fire.
Isaac S. Taylor and the other expert
architects and engineers who are planning
the great buildings OF the Louisiana Pur.
chase exposition could, not, If they bent
al their knowledge 10 the task, construct
honses upon the principles tlat these MeXi-
cans build tneir jacals. They DEFY az the
laws of architecture. They are absolutely
ingenious In then deviation from the ac-
cepted rules Of house construction, They
would fall down before they were com
pleted If auy but the brown hands of these
unlearned peons planned and worked upon
them Yet they stand and have stood for
years, the dolni lies of many large and
happy families. From their crooked, lean
in2 chimueys OF adobe cUris the smoke from
the IRE over which SINNERS the pot IN
which is being cooked the chile concarne
which offers as delicious a meal 10 the
household as the richest banquet that ever
Delighted the sons and daughters Of the
great world outside
VDon the hard smooth floor the naked
children roll and tumble In the pure delight
of being alive As one passes the babies
toddle 10 tine doors, clad only In the brown
Innocence Of happy infancy. The babies
and chickens ana dogs and perhaps pig,
n The family be wealthy. are mixed TO-
rether tn Hn association that might horrlty
rbe refined but which certainly presents n
quaint picture Of lifo very close to ma
turc. a. -t,, g..
these people to live In their simple way
Without becoming Ia any sense a burden
npon the community. Besides the garbage
6prning another source Of revenue IS open
IN he men In the abandoned quarries
there are vast quantities Of refuse rock.
This the city permits the men TO break
IN and sell for use in making concrete
ond for macadam. Some Of the men arc
cU,nIoyed in the cement works. The aged
sally forth in the evening with their cans
If hot tamales which they vend at the
hour Of supper.
For Protection of Firemen.
grounding device for trolley wires for
use at hres will be put into use IN San
Francisco. Cal, shortly. II consists, sayo