The sun., 1901-06-23
HUMAN BEASTSoF BURDEN:
SEVERE TASKS PKRFORNED BY MEN
AND WOMEN IN MExI(O.
CsrEadores rscd for tho Work Done Elsewhere
BY Horses. Mules and Oxen Enormous
Loads Carried BY Both Sexes Women
Harnesscd 10 Pioug s-Thcir Hard Lot.

Loads Carried BY Both Sexes Women
Harnesscd TO Pioushs Their Hard Lot.
GUADALAJAEA. Mes to- June II Its
strange country down here In old Mexico.
Almost everything Is done differently thu In
the United States. Mexico never gets away
from Its dislike Of innovations and its love
OF primitive ways Within hearing OF the
whistle OF locomotive there are many Mex
leans using the same wooden ploushs OF pre-
historic times In the cities thousands Of
people still grind corn In stone mortars
No primitive custom Is more doggedl-
retained by Mcxicans everywhere from the
Rio Grande to Central America than that
Of using human Drawn and muscle to do
the work OF horses. mules and oxen. There
are our competitors, and no mean ones.
either" said a railroad man recently, point
ing TO a score Of Mexicans in single file, each
carrying a box OF merchandise up the noun
talns to mining camps.
In the streets OF cities there are passing
every hour mea who transport enormous
packs of merchandise on their shoulders
and backs Here comes u little old man
with a quarter Of a ton OF hay on his bent
back. Yonder Is another man carrying
TO market a prodigious load Of earthen crooks
hind him trots a lad with basket holding
several bushels Of chilis balanced on his
head. and here comes a procession Of young
men. the cargadores for the big hotel. each
bearing on his bnck huge American trunk
from the railroad station.
The business OF burden bearing is con-
nned to the peon or peasant class Of Mexico.
There are families OF cargadores the human
frei pbters Of spanish countries who have
been in the vocation for generations As
and arms. haggard faced. probably from the
excessive use Of the powerful mescal and
tobacco, and prematlrely old Bg, their
necks ana chests are run aTb TbeT TNnpn' npe sroop
Ssid,af sboTldered from lons years in their work
scores OF mail carriers 10 The sparsely
than one hundred and forty, miles every
week A few cover on foot forty miles
day six days in the week and go up,and down
rough mountain roads s az tna,, ar ihey uoh
The descendants OF the Aztecs are stih,
nccked people in more than one sense ana
seem to prefer to place their burdens so as TO
bringing the entire strain upon the forehead
and muscles Of the neck, Will" the hands are
left free TO handle the lndeSpensnnle clga-
rctte. and once in while 10 carry pole to
holm thnm M some steep path In THIS way
they will carry n barrel of nQur upon their
broad backs up mountains sides and along
barancas so steep and rugged that. most
mnr have 20 pic!, their way TO avoid falls
The Mexican believes In woman's rights
| tn the .ytant that she should carry her half,
and in fact a little more than her half Even
In the horrors of unCrvili2ed war, m the worst
of tho hard fought revolutions. the soldiers
hnye each his woman who carries heavy
| load of Indian corn and babies, who cooks
tortillas and frlol"S for her lord ana master
| who helps to carry home the plunder II her
SIDE wins and not unfrequently perish"sf II the
other marty l. victorious
poon women also are doing the work Of
bcnsts of burden. In many instances the
| hard labor they chacrfullv perform for
more nittauce Il revolving to American eyes.
Every dav ont among the ranChor one may
| see Young women in the flush Of health and
vigor, gracefully poised ard WIN rhapoiy
| niomyhs In the ma gliev fields In the State
| Of Olxncn close beside the Gulf of I" huan-
\ teper hundreds OF women. young and old,
orp doing on the niarucy and rubber panta.
| tions what mules wonld do IN America. All
! dnv long harueSScd three and four together,
| they tug and strain at thc ROPES rh"t pl,i h"iI
! md forth across the dry fields the women
| drag the plough, their bare feet sinking IN
the soft earth, their uSrrlant long hIack
| The man who guides the plough trndges
| along with n dull set expression.
hard raj labor Of bsnst sticks in the wTitcr',
| memory. II was at IaCatecas. Irrigation
| in the hard parched soil there !. necessary
70 produce crops ana me pfim,tv", lrr'Gn ibc
| same through two and three centuries. ON
many haccndas water Is raised from springs
by crude water wheels IN ain"T, n,Id any h ",ner n
| ploved to work these water wheels But
| human muscle il cheap in Mexico. At Iaca-
teens the writer snw va ha'i HHz'h 0rnnsaG u"neIG
| 10 "A water wheel and trotting about the ring
| hauling the heavy beam OF the apparatus
Notwithstanding their ragged garb. their
| swart hands and neclis, their clumsy feet
and the marks Of hard toll thcy had fresh
beauty Ss"gepT pod 70 yGn@S o w9en b" same %l a
| for weeks, and their parents had contracted
to supply their labor until the end of the irri-
eating ;"a,on whlcn o wno 'hr"T "r. Y3nbha NOM y
| hnlf-hour rc~t n noon, the girls trudgHd about
| the hot, dusty ring Of earth. IN u"rce sun
shine. with never thing 70 vary the tnohHr-
parents received 10 cents day for each, girl.
| When one first comes 70 Mexico ana secs
donkey 80 loaded that littir OF nm nHt a, a
furry nose and four short legs ar" visible
| he wondera Later, when he secs a hay
stack approaching, with nothing under Il
but a pair OF thin human legs, he begins 70
Idtnn probably reasons. We'll. | can carry
| that load The burro, then. he should carry
slavery, i'y3 dying in -lavcry, generation after
| gcneration, with his wabbly legs, sore back
and ridiculous little face, reasons not at all
lie carries as much nS he can, and when he
con carry II no farther he fails down.
Inc ,argndorcs hnvc developed what may
be called tho carrying instinct OCcnSlQn-
ally one may SOC porter unbnrdened, Wulk-
ing unsteadly, a If his centre Of gravity
| md brcn shifted So much that he was doubt
M OF Ms balance lie resembles then an
unh,lla=ted ship Place trunk upon his
hncl< ard he i as steady "a a church
II yop put into his care a omtriyance M.th
Aity wheel, he would not trnndle It along
the ground This plan would not occur to
him No, he would shoulder II Most hi-
! CyClas nre light enough In weight, but they
aTn rather uuhandy articles TO carry for long
| distances Yet If you send one BY potter
he will most certainly carry u ou his shoulder
| IL would fatigue him to roll u along III" ROAD
! Standing on any city street corner on
busy day 1t j. interesting To "9ich the pro-
| ccs-lon Of Cnrgadores passing. Here are two
women loaded down with wood that they
gathered yesterday up IN the mountains
| twrpty miles away. Their hrowS ar" drip,
| ping perspirution. their rebo>n- are covered
| with the alkali dust Of the plains, their feet
| are ouly half protected 10y old gra-s-wover
sandals and as they tuttcr along their hand'
arc busy iumhllnC ancient strings oi boaus
and their aged llI- tremble with Wenri'
ness and the prayer they muttcr. rs spol
ms tho wood is sold the women drag them
selves To- the shelter ~ the n"nrest chur'f
door aud leave there one OF the copprrs thcN
have received for their two days hard WORK
portion OF the rest Cf the money m lrtt"fN
| ticket buy few iriioles and seek the noun
( | taihs for another load Of wood.
. Nondcr comes an ice cream man bearing
/, freezer and can ui lc" cream ~ larHc AZ =,
/ | keg of beer on hi head lc" cream
, is a national dish in Mexico, and one VIII ="
' | several hundred Ice cream pcdlerS benrlnl
F., | their stock in trnde on their heads N IA
l Cuur~" ~ day ohs"tvhtlth'' b'nItu ~
D comes the bakers boy with q great nashr,
| nicely balanced on his hend, filed with roll
| and swratcurd cakes Tor YOUR evening cho'u
luta lhou comes an Indian woman WIN