The Republican journal., 1916-02-10
eagerness to be fed. They balanced on

my ne0Q ana Cney perCneu OIL my uouuo
as / tried to scatter corn over
an xious bird even pecked my nose-nor
did they leave until the last choice NOR
sci of corn was gone.
A little tea-room in the balcony of the
Indian Arts building. under the man.
agement of the local D. A. R., attracted
US, and with its Colonial furnishings it
seemed delightful bit of old New Eng
land slipped into the heart of foreign
country. As we ate at little table in
the roof-garden we watched parade of
w.. S. soldiers and marines in the Plaza
de Panama below US, and realized that
we were still in Uncle Sans domain,
however tropical the surroundings.
There was little or no excitement on
the ''Isthmus, and the only Concession
that interested US was the Painted Des-
ert of the Santa Fe. Here, in a space
of several acres were gathered represent
atives of all the southwestern Indian
tribes, and here the tourist could witness
the actual daily life CT the Indians. One
saw their homes, their domestic life,
their work of pottery making, basket
and blanket weaving, and the hammer
ing out of silver and copper ornaments,
their ceremonial dances and their reli
gious rites. Every phase of Indian life
| Was represented, and each tribe, from
the Cliff Dwellers to the Navajos, had
its own abiding place. The adobe huts
had been made by the Indians them
selves ard brought from Arizona and
New Mexico. Cactus and pinon wood
brought from the real Painted Desert
gave the necessary local color" We
spent delightful hour there, and in the
'trading~post" we purchased Indian
baskets and blankets as we'll as-I shall
have to confess-the inevitable post
cards.
The electric chairs, Or 'eectriquettes, !"
which were so numerous about the
grounds possessed strong fascination
for me, so one evening about dusk we
hired one and started for tour of the
gardens. We were told that the mecban.
ism of the chairs was so simple that "a
child could run Them" In that our in
formant doubtless spoke the truth. but
it might quite as truthfulIy have been
added that they were SO slow that the |
proverbial tortoise could beat them. On |
level ground, or down grade, we got
on famously, but when we attempted to
climb slight incline our power slowed
down to an almost minus quantity, so
that Will decided to get out and push as
first add remedy. One of the Qor-
geous Balboa guards in his imposing uni
form of blue and silver, saw our pre-
dicament and coming to our rescue,
wheeled US like babies in perambulator.
to the nearest 'tchair station" Here ne
testified in our behalf and helped US to
exchange our chair for another with a
newly charged battery. This proved a
the ride in comfort, but may add that
we took great care not to get caught |
again at the bottom of the hill, and that
there was no danger of our ever exceed
ing the speed limit in that vehicle
On one of our evenings we strolled |
through the gardens into quiet pergola
where the air was sweet with the per-
fume of the roses ard honeysuckle that
grew thickly all about u.s. The night
had the baimy softness of the South
the bright stars shone overhead and the
lights of San Diego twinkled in the dis
lance, while behind US, through the thick
ct of pepper trees, glowed the splendor
of the Exposition. No one came near to
disturb our solitude, and when little
distance away nightingale sang softly
We felt that the memory of the San
Diego Exposition would Iinger with US as
dream of beauty. The illusion was not
dispelled even when we returned to the
U. S. Grant, for there we found an or
chestra playing in the lobby. and as we
listened we watched from the balcony
garden the ever changing colors in the
beautiful electric fountain in the plaza
below.
So much of our time was spent at the
Exposition that little was left for the
town itself, but on the last morning of
our stay we engaged an automobile for
an hours drive about the city ard out to
Ocean Beach, an amusement resort a
Jew miles away. Many tourists make a
side trip to Tia Juans, Mexico, from San
Diego. but we had been strongly advised
not to do so, since Tia Juana was simply
collection of gambling dens with ''Io-
cal color" artfully supplied for the es-
pecial benefit of America tourists, and
that we would miss nothing by emitting
it from our itinerary. The customs off,
GERS, especially Mexjcans, were particu-
larly officious, and charged exorbitant
duties on all articles purchased in Mexi-
CO, as an incident related by one of our
friends will illustrate. He was one of
an auto party of five visiting Tia Juana.
One of the ladies purchased an opal ring
In one of the many souvenir shops On !
their return to the border they were
stopped by customs officials, and when