The Little River news., 1922-10-11
Miss Hattie Curran
 Writes About Mexico
Bu-.,lRY Miss Hattie CurranO

interesting letter rom MISS HattlG Curran. who left here last August for Torreon, Mexico, with Misses Bai- 1av to become a teacher in mission school at that place.
 Toreon, MexicO.-" We have now been in Toreon month and have had lime to form some estimate of this |. part of Mexico.
 "After crossing the Rio Grande, one finds himself in a country that has pronounced foreign appearance. The barren t2sert, the noun
 low flat roofed houses and the women carving huge jars of water on thelr shoulders reminds one of pictures of Palestine Torreon is a city of sev- entv-fve thousand people, including Gomez and Lerdo, two very old Mexl- car towns connected by the lnter-ur' han It was taken by Villa during the revolution on account of the rall- road facilities and signs ot the de- vastation are in evidence On most
  neople at that time Villa lives near Torreon and when he is i'll town the neoDle block the street in front ol HIS hotel for the satisfaction of getting one fleeting glimpse of him. lie Is said 10 be very proud of his personal apnearance and to have the walls oi bic home hung with innumerable DIG lures of himself
 "I,, Mexico. climate is matter ol altitude. On the coast, they tell us u is scorcbingly hot and in the high al titudes it is too cool to De ehJoyeu os . lazy Derson. We live between these two extremes and find it delightful.
 "The siesta is Spanish custom that ;a .ioid1v observed here Our school closes for three hours in the middle of the day and all business houses close for two hours.
 I've do not nave telephone Ill our house for it is cheaper to call runner or "cargadon." A cargadon IS man who roams the streets wear ing a leather apron made rom "ioie cow-hide and a metal button show ing the number of his license.
 eve see peddlers with candy at the oictura shows. On the streets they usuallv peddle boiled roasting ears ar baked sweet potatoes on trays Chewing gum is luxury that costs 4xyontv-dye cents 8 package. Red lemonade i. sold on almost every cor nor and is only ? 1-2c glass. Ihis nrobablv accounts for some of us l-k- ing to live here.
 ..Nost of the women are fond oi iewelry and their ear rings and span ish combs are very extreme. tlhy baby is in the height of fashion II It is wearing long dress made of plhk or bipo China silk. A physician tells LIS that a peon baby is often fed beer and beans before it has it's teeth Jalls are very common in Torreon and the prisoners carve miniature monkeys from peach seeds during their leisure .Mexico has numerous holidays. Oh the day of a Mexican or Spanish lles" ta" bands begin playing in the plazas at four o'clock in the morning. we hear music at all hours of the day and night but the Mexicans pride them selves on not playing Jazz
 "A market usually occupies whole square and is divided into stalls or booths. It is buzzing confusion of queer noises with Mexicans. Arabs and Chinese screaming about their fruits and vegetables.
 If a person is wounded in street accident here, his body cannot be re- moved until the arrival of an olhcer' This is usually slow procedure ana causes untold sugering.
 ''We attended a patriotic program given at one of the public schools several nights ago. The audience sat '9 an immense open court surrounaeo many class rooms. This court had #,tile floor and after the program the eats were removed for grand Dall' \ charming senorita never appears OH the stage alone She is accompanleo either by two men in full dress sults Or by two little girls who stand Just behind her while she sings or plays.
 In theory the women are supposed to be guarded as closely as orlentals but there is wide gap between theory and practice. In the center or Iof- reon there is large plaza. Surround ing this plaza is a large circular walk inclosing beautiful garden ot tropl- cal plants and brilliant flowers. Every evening. without fail. the boys ana