Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-05-12

done on a very small scale. There is
no manufacturing in the city. The
people can exist because they can live
on so little They live principally on
beef, which is very cheap (about 4c
a pound for the best), and produce
from the garden. The city extends
over a large area, and nearly every
house has garden. The winters are
not cold and fuel for heating pur-
poses is not needed. The houses need
not be we'll built for the same reason.
So, being content with the barest
necessities of life, the poorer people
can get along on very little money.
LuXuries on the other hand are very
expensive.
San Luis is a very old city, in fact,
there are few in North America that
are older History places the date of
its foundation as 1896 and many of
the buildings look as if they might
have been built at about that time.
Of course, there are nice places-even
nicer than their exterior would prom
Use, but the general impression, after
the main streets of the business sec
ton are passed is one OF ugly looking
houses of mud bricks built flush with
the street, usually containing no win
dows, and II door, this will be closed
1t is often thatched with grass or
rough thing. The garden is surround
ed with a mud wall that is just too
high to look over. and this too is
built flush with the street. Apparent
ly the wall, which naturally wears
away more or less rapidly with wind
and weather. is replaced by another
on top of the ruins OF the first. until
after a time the street appears like
a little canyon. It's level is so far
below the top OF the wall. and even
quite a distance below the level Of the
path which hugs the wall on either
side. Dead animals are never buried.
Dead dogs, cats. and chickens lie in
the streets. Nor is it an uncommon
sight to see a dead horse or COW
stripped of its skin, which has
value. OF course. If they happen to
lie in the middle Of the street the car
riages simply make a detour. 1t
seems to be the duty OF nobody in
particular to see that such nuisances
are removed and they stay there until
eaten at night by buzzards
Within the home there are a great
variety of conditions. The well-to-do
people know comforts and live on a
plane which for its similarity to the
comforts and conveniences that we
know need not be here described All
houses OF any pretense at all have
patio or open court upon which all
parts open. Seldom is there more than
one story TO the houses The climate
is mild the year around, the thermo-
meter rarely going below the freezing
point, so that the people live great
deal ont OF doors. \ stove for the
purpose of heating a room is practi-
cally unknown. In fact, the natives
can not see how anyone can want
one; they think it is a very unhealthy
and dangerous thing for person to
leave a warm room and 90 out doors.
Therefore they prefer TO go about in
overcoats during the early and late
parts OF the day, and it is considered
perfectly proper to sit down to a meal
in an overcoat. Such a thing as a
furnace or steam heat is unheard of.
Cook stoves are never used, the prac-
tice being to cook over an open fire
or charcoal brazier.
There are only two meals day,
1.
the evening There is no breakfast.
A native. upon rising in the morning,
drinks his matte and takes nothing
more until midday. Matte is a tea
made from certain herb, and is not
used much outside this country. Meat
is the great staple. and each meal has
several courses OF it. The universal
Argentine dish is called puchero SO
common is this that il has come to
mean much the same as our express
sion daily food" 1t serves various
purposes. The dish as a whole con
sists OF al sorts of vegetables boiled !
together with beef which is apparent !
ly not good for roasting purposes.
From this mixture is drawn off first
the broth. after this il furnishes the |
soup with some vegetables. Then the
meat itself, tough as tripc and with |
the juices all boiled out OF it, is
served up with the remainder OF the
vegetables. This series of dishes is
served up twice daily the year around,
even in the better families. This, of
course. is followed by other dishes as
well.generally meat cooked in different
ways. Pastry is not common, and
the great Yankee dessert. pie" one
never sees. Wine is common, cheap |
and good. and is universally used at
the table. Fruit is plentiful in season
and almost impossible out of season,
there being no ice, except little that |