Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-27

t0g in shacks made - old ties ~ ~
boards stuck W against the side or
isill the home being half cave and halr
Rouse. Sometimes the ties are set a.
end. forming the walls % the hut. while
: ihatch 81 cactus or straw makes tho
roof II YOU viii remember how long
railroad tie Is you VIII know the height
Of such huts. In other places there az
hats built with ridge roofs and these
roofs are sometimes OF boards or tiles
In travelling through the mountainous
regions the board roofs are sometimes
held down by stones placed upon them
and the tiles are lad ~ mortar In but
few OF such huts are nails used. ropes
and wythes taking their places.
Further down in the lowisnds the nuts
are made .. cane and poles The poles
are driven into the ground and the cane
l. fastened 10 them. the house being mn
lshed with thatch roof made 81 corn
stalks cane. Sometimes these pole
wallis are plastered but often YOU can see
through between the canes. The weather
i 50 warm that no fires are needed and
the cooking is often done in the open
air
Here in Mexico city the mos; OF the In
dams live In tenement; houses whole
families often being crowded into one
room MANY or the larger buildings have
bttt poor on the 4ifes 400. ana the nettsf
classes above. ON the outskirts are the
homes OF sauatters made OF refuse ma
terial from tin cans to store boxes and
there are some huts of sun-dris
SO low that the people have
enter them.
! wish | could take YOU in:o ,sf
the poorer huts such as Won can ind III
almost any part OF the republic. | enter
ed one last week whose ground floor was
not bigger than that OF A kitchen % q
tNo-family fiat. IL had walls ~ railroad
ties stood upon end and ties laid across
tie tor formed the roof. 4 cradle hung
from the roof and out Of il q baby with
SKIN as red as a freshly boiled lobster
biinhed at me | entered. A frovsy
peon woman Was rocking the cradle and
TWO copper-faced children hung round
her knee.
looked for furniture. There were only
two stools and a mat which was spread
upon the ground. The father mother and
baby slept on the mat In another corner
We're the two stones upon which the WON
an grinds the corn Of VII ch she makes
the tortillss bread of the family.
Nearby was pot of lime water in which
corn was soaking. and jcs; above hung
from the rafters was bunch OF the red
peppers used TO flavor the food.
AS | said 'buenos dos" or good-day,
the woman rose and when IN my broken
Spanish | tod her that her baby was
pretty she smiled and said "gracias."
She was beautiful. though frowsy. She
wore a white waist loose at the neck and
red flannel skirt which fell 10 within
an inch OF her shapely brown ankles. Her
feet were bare. and | doubt not that all
the clothes she possessed were those she
had and the blue cotton rebosa or
shawl which | could see hanging from
one of the projecting railroad ties at the
edge OF the roof.
AS chucked the baby under the chin
the father entered He was better clad
than his wife, and his clothing was clean
err II consisted of a white cotton shirt.
a pair of wide cotton trousers and red
blanket which was thrown over the
shoulders. He had on a straw hat with
a brim large around as a parasol. and
a crown which rose up like sugar loaf.
He wore no shoes. but had sandals con-
sisting OF pieces of leather bound on with
straps.
Upon inquiry / found that this mans
wages were 10 cents a day and that h
owed a debt of over s400 His whole suit
could not have cost more than IS. and the
same sum would probably outfit his wife
In western Mexico some OF the peasants
have suits OF tanned goatskin which cost
Sc, but such suit will last several years.
especially as they have a way of half
soling their trousers where the i
the hardest. The sandals cost about =,
cents a pair. They are merely sole Leaf
er strips tied to the bare feet with strings
Down in the lowlands the women wear
less clothing than on the plateau. a com
mon costume being a long Mother Hub
bard nightgown with short sleeves. This
is cut low at the neck and tied In with
string at the waist. AS TO the children.
the less said about their clothes the bet
ter. a little back of Tampico and near
Vera Cruz you may see good-sized boNs
and girls wearing othing more than did
Adam and Eve before Eve ate that apple.
The abies, likewise. go naked
FRANK q. CARPENTER.