El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-30

M Ths easrs sssF's 81 the June Ss ara
guam people is difficult thing
to analyze. Deeply religious. they seem
TO violate nearly every principle Of re-
lgious ethics. Warm hearted usually,
they often are as cruel as sayages. Pro-
Tossing patriotic devotion to their
countrys welfare, they never have
known what it is to put it's good
above their own personal interests.
With the exception of the small per-
centage of high caste families, mar
riage is all but a forgotten rite. The
church tells the people that marriage
solemnized under the state laws IS not
worth the paper the certificate is
written on. The state in turn refuses
to recognize the marriage rites OF the
church. The result is that the MAORI
ty of the people compromise by simply
agreeing to live together as long as
the lamp of love continues to burn.
Hence common-law marriages are the
rule rather than the exception, and
when the parties to the agreement
cease to care for one another the for
malities Of a divorce court are not es-
sentfal to separation
PoIygamy Practiced.
It is not considered wrong for a man
to maintain a half dozen different do
nestle establishments If he so desires.
He will be criticized only If he tries to
maintain more homes than he is able
to provide for. The various wives seem
to get along famously together and
the children usually are on good terms.
Some time since, the small son OF one
Of the leaders of the revolution was
asked how many brothers and sisters
he had He replied that he did not
know you see.' he said, I'VE have
so many mammas," This boys father
is now candidate for the presiden-
tial office.
Keno the National Game.
Cock fighting and keno playing are
the national pastimes. No police re-
strictions are in evidence, and one may
see keno games in the open streets at
all hours Of the night As one travels
up and down the railroad he may see
game cocks perched on the WlnooW
lodges of the third class coaches, and
when the train stops at the innumer-
able little way stations they crow lust
iIv by way Of challenge to the local
roosters. Some Of these travelling
game cocks are so thoroughly devoted
to their masters that It IS not necessa-
~ even to have a string tied 10 their
legs. AS one walks through the street
ne never passes many blocks without
seeing ROSTERS tethered by the leg 20
the door step Of some house Last
winter the city of Granada the arls-
tocratic municipality Of the republic,
nassed a law prohibiting cock fight
ing. 1t is said that the SUPPLY OF
chicken on the tables Of the hotels
of Nicaragua was noticeably increased
Immediately thereafter
Famous Cock Pits.
The city of Leon, with Its $4,000 anti
Conservative inhabitants, still adnefes
deyotedly to the cooking main A su-
perficia1 glance at this metropolis OF
Nicara qua would lead the visitor to
conc1nde that the city is famous for
three things-its churches, its game
cocks. and its naked children Wnen
one awakes about 5 o'clock in the
morning at Leon he is convinced that
all of the cocks OF Christendom are
growing within ear shot and that tne
Leonese people are the greatest COCK
fighters Of the world
The children of Nicaragua, except OF
course those of the aristocratic families,
are not reared-they are Simply
ritted To grow. They run as wild as
the tropical plants OF the jungle. ana
are given not even the slightest rud1- |
roents of education. It is esumateo
that perhaps so percent Of them are
horn ont of wedlock. They rarely have |
anv clothes worth mentioning, and i've
in such dirt and squalor as 10 lead one I
TO the conclusion that either they nave
become hardened to germs, or else tnat
germs are much less dangerous than
the doctors pronounce them
Lack of Sanitation J.
one mead not travel farther than Ma
ma qua to see the pitiful state OF squaho
poverty in which the Nicaragnan people
tive In this city there is no modern
tfon whatever, and as result
the death rate from entrsc fevers, es-
among children, is remarkably
high. The water supply OF the city Is
taken from wells at the lake 'front.' al
most at the point where the drainage
asto,,as laden with human effluvia, dis
cborre into the lake. There is no garo-
era service. the office Of scavenger De
,3c Filled by a lot of fine looking
syyina which patrol the streets and go
ito tba houses Il necessary, after the
No one thinks Of eating pork
here and the swine flourish perennl-
ally. 4na
There has been no effort to pave the
streets of Mana qua, and in dry weather
the dust is so deep that while drlVlns
ona can enjoy only tolerable degree
of comfort by holding a wet handker-
chief or sponge to his nose In wet
weather the mud is so deep that the
citv may fairly be said to be one huge
mud puddle.
No attention is paid by the Nicara-
guans to the principles espoused oy
American societies for the prevention
Of cruelty to animals. In the United
States humanitarians complain against
the docking OF horses tails. In Mica
ragua they not only dock their talls'
but tie their feet together when stand
ing. instead of using hitching weight
or chain attached to the bit. Under
these conditions the poor horse has lit
tie opportunity to fight the swarms OF
flies which attack IT.
Graft Is Legitimate.
Graft seems to be regarded as leg1t-
innate in Nicaragua. When provisional
president Madriz addicted there was In
the treasury several million dollars OF
unuttered money which had been print
ed by the American Bank Note COM
pany. These bills needed the applica-
ton Of a rubber stamp to make them
ready for circulation. They We're CIV
en- out in bundles. so rapidly that no
effort at all was made to stamp them
rhe recipients were told tnat they
could come around later and get the
IL