The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-11-06
PLAYING THE BEAR
DOWN IN MEXICO
Romantic Method Of Paying
Court to Women of the
Country.
MODERN
I hey Constitute a Somewhat Distant
Method of Courtship, but End in
the Correct Way-Women
Devoted to Husbands.

MODERN Mexico: Playing the bear"
IN the current language of Mexico
means to court a woman. Although
there are SO many social classes in this
country, especially here in the capital
city, Where ten or more could be
counted, all OF them entirely different
IN customs one from the other, there
are but two way OF playing the bear"
When a young a of the middle or
higher classes is attracted by a girl on
lhe street he begins by following her to
her home, though he may spend a
whole day without daring to speak to
her. He remains on the street, looking
at her balconies or windows. If the
girl comes out or if the beau observes
the sllghtest movement of the curtains
or blinds. that is a sign that she is not
entirely Indifferent to him. and from
that day on he spends all his leisure
hours, and many that he should dedi-
cate to his occupation, under the. bal
comics or in front OF his prospective
novia's residence.
After three or four days, when the
Wooer appears, the girl comes out on
her balcony, but just for a moment.
~ 'AAe N&l OLE AOiiiCS Jul dSd
and stays a little longer, but only after
ten or twelve days (never on nor after
the thirteenth day, for fear Of the nu1n-
Der l3) does she deign to look in the
direction Of the patient beau, who sa-
iutes her with a bow, taking off his hat
; n beaming with his sweetest smile.
Flowers and Notes.
Thereafter salutes and smiles are
! daily exchanged; then comes the send
ing OF flowers of symbolical colors, sly
~ delivered by the '~aguador' (water
carriel) Or the "~carbenero' Charcoal
vender), till at the enc of a month a
perfumed letter, written on rose-col-
ored paper in the young mans best
chtrography, reaches the hands of his
beloved, carefully concealed among the
flowers of the prettiest bouquet that the
novio was able to find at the flower
market near the cathedral.
One ignorant of the country's Gus
toms would think that he had disguised
the mistress Of his thoughts, because
for two or three days after the sending
Of the letter she does not appear at
her window, as she was in the habit Of
doing, and it is necessary to send an
other letter, even more expressive than
the first, to make her-come out and
smile again.
Neither is this letter answered. 1t Is
' " - - IA otASS
Of nights of watchfulness. of %despond-
ency, Of projects of suicide, etc., ETC.,
or, as they say in a well known gar
zuela:
mi como. nj hcbo, nj vivo, nj duermo,
nj fumo, III NADIA Il neither eat, nor
drink, nor live. nor sleep. nor smoke,
nor do many other things.)
AS a rule, this letter is answered
evasively, but from that moment a
correspondence is established. The APP
pointments come next, n the lover is
no longer obliged to spend entire days
awaiting the m when the girl
will come out.
Balcony Scenes.
The correspondence having been es-
tablished, and the girl having accepted
and returned the love vows Of the novio,
then begin the evening cooling through
the balcony grating, when all move
ment has ceased in the city and moth
ing but the whistles of the policemen
at the corners Or the footsteps of a
night-watchman are heard. The moon
light nights, generally, are particularly
preferred by the overs for their bill
ings, and it is not rare when one is
going home at midnight to find three
or our couples Of lovers on every
street: he on the sidewalk, she at the
window, or in the second-story balcony,
and the moon smiling on the pic
tureSQue scene.
The water carriers and charcoal ven
ders, whose gentry of the colonial
epoch who, unfortunately, are already
disappearing from Mexico's life, per-
form a very important role in the his
tory Of the love suits of many Mexi-
cans. There are numerous nstance
where the first flower and the first let
ter were brought by the charcoal Ven
der, the latter continuing to carry let
tiers back and forth till the marriage
was solemnized. Then he still delivers
the merchandise at the new home. and
is ready to resume his double role of
charcoal vender and letter-carrier as
soon as the daughters of the couple
which he helped bring together reach
the age when they will have sweet
hearts themselves. The anne might be
said of the a~guadores, those strange
personages dressed in leather, often
seen entertaining even the richest
mansions with thir enormous chochocol
on the back or grouped together at the
door of the pulque shop awaiting the
maid servant to come with the GUS
tomary maestro, me echa listed Ut
viajecito?" a request that he go to the
nearest water tank and All his cho-
chocol and carry the precious liquid TO
the house.
Loyalty Of the Women.
With regard to playing the bear
among the lowest class, little can be
said. A soft push, a pulling of the
woman's rebozo, a few harsh words
from the lips of the latter, then a smile
and subsequently a few medidas
= So ~ ~ fba IRA St' 1J1InIIa Shnfl