The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-24

as Colombian servants go. And the
/ Colombian servants are not the worst
! in Latin America.
All these servants are exceedingly
SuperstitiOUs. They insist on locking
the doors of their rooms at night. even
I on the remote country plantations.
where there Is no possibility of thieves
proving about When they are asked
/ why they do so. they reply:
TO keep out the dead people. who
would tickle our toes if they got in"
But some of them are not sure that
a barred door is a sufficient safe
guard against evil spirits. They put
the foot Of the bed against the wall.
instead Of the head. SO that the
ghosts cannot get to their toes to
tickle them.
When a storm breaks over Che
house, accompanied By the lightning
which is so frequent and so vivid I'm
the tropics. the servants immediately
leave whatever they may be doing and
run into the patio. or courtyard. They
get a pailful of wood ashes and scatter
them on the ground in the form of a
cross
While the storm lasts they kneel
around the cross, weeping hysterical-
~ and calling upon their patron saints
at the top pitch Of their voices. u
may be dinner time bat the family
has to wait for dinner until the storm
Is over and the oYerstrung nerves Of
the servants have been claimed. A.
thunderstOrms are very common in
Latin American countries. they serf-
oUsly dislocate domestic routine.
Garlic is another fruitful cause oe
friction between the South American
servant and her foreign mistress The
1rae
dish. and it is almost impossible 80
break her of he habit
Now, Magdalene.' the mistress n8v
say, Il want YOU TO boil some plain
rice do YOU understand Here are tha
rice and tho pot and the water Put
the rice i'm the water and boil nothing
else wish it,
Isl sonora.
Presently the rice is served at ia BILE
swimming in greasy native butter and
SO strongly favored with garlic that
nobody can eat it.
Didn't I tell YOU TO boil plain rice"
the mistress asks.
II don't know the cook replies sui
lenly. My grandmother always cook
ed rice in this way, and this is the way
] cook 1t. If it was goOd enough for
my grandmother it is good enough for
any gringO.
south American servants. said 4
woman who lately returned TO Boston
from Bolivia. ARE the most uublushiug
thieves and liars on the face Of the
earth. I have known "A girl TO deny
that she had stolen one OF my dresses
when she was actually wearing it.
How could I steal?' she asked. in-
dignantly: Tt would be impossible.
am q Bolivian, Ny family for gene
-afforfe hack have r,ar-oT- e-ro1ar- told
a lie.
When I pointed to the dress she
coOliy told me that I was mistaken,
although I had been wearing the dress
earlier in the day myself
-One day I lost my sidecOWb and
asked the servants if they had seen IT,
They all swore they had not. but pres
entity one of them brought 10 te me
with some of her own frizzzy hair
sticking in the teeth. accused her of
having used it. but she said.
No. sonora. ] have just found 10
on your dressing table The master
must have used it 10 comb his beard.
4 South American cook does not uu-
derstand how to prepare any meat for
table except beef and chicken. Wild
game of any kind she detests. not only
viii she never eat It, but she even re-
fuses to cook it, saying that it is poi
sOnOus.
Her grandmother ate nothing except
beef and chicken. she contends. and
therefore you had no right TO eat
anything else. If contrary to her
counsel. you cook game yourself and
eat il. she goes away into a corner OF
the dining room. falls upon her knees
and prays loudly throughout the meal
that you may escape poisoning.
Bananas and milk are regarded as "a
poisonous dish. and the servants usu-
ally warn foreigners against eating
oranges or lettuce. The sDrinkling or
lemon or Iimejuice over food Is thought
to be most injurious and lemonade is
considered on a level with prussic acid