Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1912-12-26

EDITOR Reflector: Well, now IaT
have you travelled since ! left you.
Z believe left you in the alleys
OF santa Fe." Well. come now, am
ready 10 travel on. We will leave
Ganta Fe and travel out past the
government Indian school onto a
government road. My but that 70
fine, especially after travelling over
that crooked trail leading to Santa
re. II Is up and up over a lave strewn
mesa, now we come to steep lava
cliff one half mile high, but the
government has built these roads
and they have no sleeper grade than
lB per cent. So to get down this al-
most perpendicular cliff we wind
around back and forth almost two
miles to get one half mile. We met
4 Mexican at the foot OF the hill
who said that before the govern
ment fixed the road he pulled more
than one car up the hill. That night
We had for campmates two indian
men, a squaw and papoose, all dress
ed In blankets. They had been driv-
ing hard trying to make It home but
they failed SO they had nothing TO
eat. We gave them provisions for
supper. The men hustled out and
rot a lot OF wood and built fire.
They talked and sang until the moon
came up about Q o'clock, then they
pulled out. l couldn't understand
one word they said but their song
was about as musical as Charley
Parker's old whistle.
All the way to Albuquerque we
passed by the adobe houses OF the
Alameda Indians. For fear some
do not know what adobe houses are
will say that they are mud houses.
They are made many different ways.
Some are made by patting mud In
ones hand. Some build walls, fill
ing in with rocks, but most OF them
are made in wooden molds. Troughs
are made with division boards that
make the blocks about 4x12x12 IN.
The mud is rolled In a small CAKE
then rolled in straw, grass or weeds
then back in the mud until the block
a as large as they want it. 1t Is then
dressed into the mold which makes
the block square cornered. They are
taken out and dried. The buildings
are built in every shape imaginable
some are covered with single roof,
some are flat and covered with dirt.
The outsides are sometimes left just
AZ they put them together. They
are put up like brick buildings only
the morter is mud. Some buildings
are plastered on the outside with
mud, some are white washed, some
are given a coat OF cement and some
are pebble dashed. Some buildings1
nave Just dirt floors which 10 wet
and then troweled until It is very
much like cement floors. like IT!
better than cement as 1t isn't as
noisy or as hard to walk over. ! was
IN a house which was built about 80
wears ago and the floor wasn't worn
UnIy at the door, which shows how
hard It is. Some cover the floors
With carpet, canvas, rugs and other
floor coverings. Some have wood
floors and are fixed as up to date
as any house. There was one thing
I noticed in the strictly Mexican
villages. The houses we're built with
porches. The building under the
porch was white washed or plaster
ed until within foot or six inches
OF the ground. This was painted
some other delicate color such as
Hight blue, pale green or pink. The
door yards were swept as clean as
4 broom could make them. The Mex
leans have little furnaces outside to
cook ON so as not to smoke or heat
MP the houses any more than neces-
sarv.
Albuquerque is town that 1t paws
well to visit. Here was out first
introduction Of truly western
Gown. we had hardly stopped our
machine until we we're surrounded
Nv reonle. mostly business men, one
uFfarirg his private garage for our
use, another one this thing, another