The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-01-08

Whenever the holder of this Iaper de-
sired to draw money or goods from the
store or from his employer anywhere, he
was charged as follows: Y for $40, V for
S., o for 81, u for one-half dollar, l.
for one shilling, and / for one-haif shil-
ling. CThe horizontal lines represent the
long horizontal line following the word
PaidD Every Saturday night or Sunday
morning the holder would bring his paper
to the patron" BOSS, clerk or mayor
donio and say: "Rayame" Mark me the
time). Upon this the latter would mark
the days and half days by perpendicular
lines, crossing the horizontal line for 4
whole day and stopping at it for half
day. ThereupOn the holder would receive
his vale back, which he generally carried
in bit of rawhide or buckskin, doubled
like book, or leave with his family if he
worked at distance. The store would
Keep a page corresponding to each vale in
a book, and in this manner both the en-
ployer and employe could figure out in a
moment, each in his way, how the account
stood. (After l left the army l was fire.
quently so situated as to be compelled to
use this system, and l found that it was
quite practically
Very frequently the balance in those
days was on the side of the employer, re-
sulting from the fact that many Mexicans
were allowed to overdraw their ac-
counts, sometimes to quite a large
extent. have known some working
at % cents a day who were in
debted to their employers in sums which
they could never, and never expected to
pay. Especially was this tile case with
good house servants, who in course of time
came TO be considered as members of the
family, with good workmen and with ex-
pert horse and cattlemen. The employer
had then for his protection the now abol-
ished so-cailed peon-law, which gave him
the right to pursue, arrest and bring to
the whipping-post any absconder.
TYPICAL MEXICAN CITY.
After q while we left the store and
sauntered through the town, and surely
thought at first that was back in a small
village of Palestine Very few men were
In the street, and all of these wore neither
socks nor shoes, but in their stead home
made sandals of rawhide fastened BIZ
strings passing inside of the big toe and
over the ankle; their whole vestment con-
sisted of pair of wide, blue or white cot.
ton trousers held in place by leather
string, and more or less clean calico
skirt, handkerchief around the neck ani
a very broad-brimmed, coarse straw hat
Tied in q corner of the neckerchief They
carried a little tobacco and cigaret paDer
or rather cornhusks shaped into small OBJ.
long pieces; in another corner of the same
they carried flint, a piece of steel and
some rotten wood or punk for finder to
strike fire with; few of them had matches.
The women, all of more or less dark.
complexion, had fine, dark eyes; they wore
a calico skirt of gaudy colors and a white
chemise. Their heads were covered by o
blush cotton shawl with fringes, called q
"rebozo." This article of dress was al
lowed to come well over the face, barely
allowing the eyes to exercise their func
ton. and falling over their shoulders. Few
OF them wore stockings or shoes, but
nearly all carried upon their heads either
large round vessel of earthenware called
their "olla, which is generally used as q
receptacle for water, or else a smaller YES
sci called Gazette" which resembles d
kettle with a round bottom, and which
they used to cook their beans in and also
to carry the meals to their husbands work.
ing In the fields. Their walk and erect
carriage strike everyone at once as being
very graceful.
Tie i.Oases, all built of adobe. were o
one story, and had fat mud roofs, resting
upon sticks of the decayed giant cactus
or upon reeds when obtainabic. There wa
not a cooling-stove in the whole town, no
sewing-naehinc. The poorer people sim
ply cooked their scanty meals in earthel
bowls upon small hearth of adobes O
upon tie. ground between some stones
baking their fiat paper bread, called "tor
tiilns," upon 4 sheet of tin supported owe
tie ire. Their chief article of diet wer
the red or pink beans of the country rn,
at times stew of beef or mutton: al
their food is well seasoned (much over
seasoned to our taste) with the hot rec
pepper that everybody cultiyates. Spoons
we saw in use at few houses. principal
" large wooden spoons for kitchen use