The Republican journal., 1903-05-21

beasts are driven, one by one, to the
appointed place and firmly tied to a
stake The hide is neatly cut around
| the neck and down the middle, without
touching the flesh, or severing tAe
arteries or hurting the animal much;
after which hooks are fastened into the
| loosened skim a rope being attached to
each hook: strong men take firm grip
on the ropes and pull backward, pulling
and pulling, until The hide is torn off
clean TO the tau t is said that during
poor sheep are almost human in their
expression of agony. and that the
bloody, quivering mass sometimes lives
several minutes. The only excuse for
the barbarous practice is that the skins
are much more flexible and durable
when thus taken off alive than when
! the animals are dead
| \ youthful army officer, Who was in
! troduced to our party by the resident
consul. has been eXemplifying some of
the traits of his race in a marked
manner He was immediately taken"
by our Yankee young lady. and. redoubt-
able warrior though he desired to be
considered. surrendered Internationally
at first sight. Our little Colonel as
We called him, was hardly more than
boy and like the rest of his class,
was a scion of aristocracy. 1t IS not
uncommon to find captains III their
teens in the Peruvian army, and all
the officers are sons of the first families,
quite separate and apart from the
common soldiers, who are halt-breedS
which are mostly made up of negroes.
He wore the usual toggery, without
which Peruvian officer is never seen,
at home and abroad, al weddings aud
funerals, ''to mill and to meeting -
consisting of gaudy scarlet trousers
with a broad black stripe down the
outside of each leg, a black Jacket
heavily braided and loaded with brass
buttons, red cap protusely adorned with
gold braid, and a sword that persisted
in slipping around and nearly tripping
him up every time he crossed the parlor
floor. The person who makes clothes
for the Peruvian army evidently expect
them all to grow, for the trousers are
invariably so loose and baggy that the
"seat" appears near where the knees
ought to be, and the knee midway be-
tween that member and the ankle, max
ing the side stripes look like wriggling
black serpents. But the jackets are SO
short and small, with tendency to
ride upwards, that the rear buttons
which are supposed to mark the waist
line occupy prominent position near
the shoulder blades.
The little colonel was very demon
strative in his love-making so far as
signs and Sleeps eyes, go, but found
himself wonderfully hampered by the
restrictions of local etiquette. The OBJ
ject of his devotion could speak little
Spanish and he not a word of English,
and of course he could never see her at
all without the presence of her mother.
But when the latter's back was turned,
as was sometimes purposely done when
a convenient mirror would reflect the
scene, he would instantly throw himself
into the attitude of the, typical grand
opera lover, with head on one side, eyes
Sin fine frenzy RUM and both hands
pressed to the region of his heart, to
the infinite amusement of the onlook-
erS.
One day he astonished us by pleasant
ly remarking: you may perhaps OBJ
serve that [ show need of washing,
but | took cold last week and am not
yet cured of it, And then we remem-
bered the Spanish superstition, held in
universal respect, that it is dangerous
to wash ones face and hands during a
cold, though it may last a month.
The valiant colonel was not of those
plebeians who serenade their dulcineas
with guitar or mandolin, assisted by
the voice; nothing less than the full
brass band would satisfy him when the
intensity of his feelings demanded
musical expression. We endured it
several times; but finally were obliged
to beg him to desist, on the ground
that we couldn't afford the expense
which will be readily understood when
l explain that the regiment band was
thirty pieces strong, every man of them
addicted to beer, (Which is all imported
and costs 80 cents per bottle Peruvian
money, and that custom permits them
during an evenings serenade to order
whatever they like to drink at the near
est bar, the bill to be paid by the unfor-
tunate person to whom the music is ad-
dressed FANNIE Il. WARD