Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1914-03-21
ARE OF Little USE
Men Receive Little Consideration
In Tehuantepeo.
supsrbIy Built Indian Matrons Of ths
Mexican Isthnus Are the Msr-
chants In Market Plsee-sa.Ies
Idle Their Time Away.

There is ono town In Mexico which
would repay a visit from the advo-
Gates of votes for women" remarks
a writer in the st. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat. Il is called Tehuantepec and
lies on the isthmus OF that name.
Here dwells q race of Indians among
whom the women are. both in physique
and In intelligence, vastly superior to
the men. All the business is In the
capable hands Of the superbly built,
handsome matrons OF the tribe. They
will not allow man to sell anything
In the market place. Even the meat
stalls are In charge Of women, who
carve up carcasses and slap the
prime cuts" on the counter with all
the jovial assurance of the male
butcher. II you buy coffee or bananas
off Tehuantepec plantation It is with
a woman that you will treat, and she
will drive a shrewd bargain with
you.
AS soon as you come into the dis
trict you find women far more no
ticeable than the men. The latter are
small and Insignificant. They seem to
have nothing to do but smoke ciga-
rettes. The women do that, too, but
they go about with an air of being oc-
cupied. They walk with an exquisite
pictorial grace, and always as II they
were going somewhere on important
business. They are not very dark
Tod hat rn-
fined as we'll as intelligent, so much
so that one can easily imagine such
faces on European women Of a high
class. OF no other Indian can this
be said.
travelled on the Tehuantepec rail-
way with several Of very striking
appearance. One oldish woman with
gray hair and resolute jaw line wore.
as most OF them do, short red and
black jacket Of the zouave type. Her
skirt was simply a sheet Of red cotton
with a thin white line in 1t, draped
tightly around her and kept up by
having its end tucked In at the waist.
Her feet were innocent of boots or
shoes but, on the other hand. her
hair was beautifully braided. The
usual mode of hairdressing is to carry
a braid all around the head so as to
display its shape. And nearly all the
Tehuantepec women put flowers In
their hair. At first the contrast be-
tween heads so neat, 30 elaborate,
even, and the sketchy costume below,
Is disconcerting. 1t is rather as II q
man should wear top hat and a
bathing suit
However, in such heat as scorches
down upon the isthmus that combina-
ton might not be amiss. One soon
realizes that the head needs protec-
ton and the body as much freedom as
possible. Many women wear simply
a loose cotton tunic and a skirt Of the
kind have described, with a good
deal OF light brown waist showing in
between the two. To this on Sundays
they add incongruously very large
frilled and "gauffered" linen and lace
cap, something like the cap which
Dutch women wear in the islands OF
the Zuyder Zee, only more decorative,
and capable Of being worn in a dog
en- different ways. In the pillared
market hall, open at the sides, they
sit and chatter gayly in sweet-toned
voices all day long. Their wares.
mostly fruit or vegetables OF grains, |
are spread out before them in painted
bowls. Around them play their naked |
children, all mixed up with dogs and
pigs.