El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-04-26

how much gold Cortez carried away,
but among the first presents ne re
ceived from Montezuma was a golden
plate as big as a cart wheel, ana y ~
said the indian chiefs who met hlm
wore armor of gold and that they had
collars. bracelets and earrings or the
same precious metal.
How the Poems Live
such were the indians who NVed
here about 400 years They were
CnslaVcu by the Spaniards and a large
proportion OF them have been slaves
ever since. 4 wish ] could show you
how they are living iu these days OF
our advanced civilization and in this
year OF our Lord 1913. on most OF
thc haCicndas ON the plateau they nave
nuta OF sun dried brick many Of Whlch
are ao low that q man cannot stand
upright in them. Tho rooms are small
aud dark. some OF the houses have
uo and their doors are OF the
ru1r-t description. Tho roofs are nat
aud the houses arc. in fact, little more
chan brick boxes. They are very ike
tho homes or the fellahin on the
banks OF the Nile
I'm the mountains about Toluca are
shuntics not more than four feet in
height. and neal the railroad on the
way to Mexico City you may see lam
lilies living in shacks made of old ties
or of boards stuck up against the side
of a hill, the home being half cave and
half house. Sometimes the ties are
set on END, forming the walls of the
hut. while a thatch of cactus or straw
makes the roof. If you will remem-
Der how long a railroad tie is you
will know the height Of such huts.
In other places there are huts built
with ridge roofs, and these roofs are
sometimes of boards or tiles
In travelling through the mountain
Gus regions the board roofs are some
times held down Dy stones placed
Upon them and the tiles are laid in
mortar In but few of such huts are
nails used, ropes and Wythes taking
their places.
In the Tropical LOwIands-
Further down in the lOwlands the
nuts are made of cane and poles. The
poles are driven into the ground, and
the cane is fastened to them, the
house being finished with a thatch
roof made of cOrnstaIks OF cane
Sometimes these pole walls are plas-
tered, but often you can see through
between the canes. The weather is
so warm that no fires are needed and
the cooking IS often done In the open
air.
Here in Mexico City the most OF
the indians live in eneme houses,
whole families often being crowded
into one room. Many Of the larger
buildings have the poor on the first
floor and the better classes above On
the are the homes or squat
tiers made of refuse material from tin
Cans TO store boxes and there are
some huts of sun dried bricks, so low
that the people have to stoop to enter
In "A Mexican Hut.
wish 1 could take YOU into some
of the poorer huts, such as you can
find in almost any part of the repub-
lie. I entered one last week whose
ground floor was not bigger than that
OF a kitchen of a two family flat It
had walls Of railroad ties stood upon
end and ties laid across the top formed
the roo A cradle hung from the roof
and out of it a baby with a skin as
red as a freshly boiled lobster blinked
at me as / entered A IroWSy peOn
woman was rocking the cradle, and
two copper faced children hung round
her knee
the mat. In another corner were the
two tOn upon which the woman
grinds the corn of which she ma1es
the tortillas. or bread, of the family. I
Nearby was a pot of lime water in
corn was soaking, and just above 4
hung from the rafters was a bunch OF
red peppers used to flavor the food.
AS 1 said "buenOS dos, or gOOddays ]
the woman rose and when, in my brOk-
en- Spanish, 1 told her that her baby \
pretty she smiled and said "gra-
She was beautiful, though
Irowsy. She wore a white waist loose
at the neck and a red flannel skirt
which fel TO within an inch Of her
shapely brown ankles. Her feet were ]
bare, and 1 doubt not that all the
clothes she possessed were those she
had on and the blue cotton rebOsa or
shawl which 1 could see hanging from
one Of the projecting railroad ties at
~ @@7[ - @@E
As 1 chucked the baby under the
hin the father entered He was bet
ter clad than his wife, and his cloth
ing was cleaner. It consisted Of a
white cotton shirt a pair of wide cot
trousers and a red blanket which
thrown over the shoulders be
had on a straw hat with a brim as
large around as a p~arasOl, and a
crown which rose up like a sugar loaf.
wore no shoes, but had sandals,
consisting Of pieces Of leather, bound
with straps.
Upon inquiry, 1 found that this
wage were so cents a day and
that he owed a debt Of over $500. His
suit could not ave cost more
s., and the same sum would
probably outfit his wife.
In western Mexico some Of the
peasants have suits of tanned goat
skin which cost So, but such a suit
will last several years; especially as
they have a way Of h~alfsOling their
trousers where the wear is the hard
est. The sandals cost about 25 cents
a pair. They are merely sole leather
strips tied to the a T feet with
strings.
Down in the lowlands the women ,
less clothing than on the plateau,
q common costume being a long Moth
cr Hubbard nightgOWn with short
sleeves. This is cut low at the neck
and tied in with a string at the waist
to the children, the less said about
their clothes the better a little back
OF TampiCO and near Vera Cruz you
may see good sized boys and girls
wearing nothing more than did Adam
Eve before Eve at that apple. The
babies likewise 80 naked.