TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 273 



After such meat is perfectly 

 dried out it keeps well for a 

 long time and is used for the 

 various Mexican dishes — such 

 as: "Came acada," Chile con 

 carne" — con frijoles y tortillas; 

 "Enchiladass" con tortillas, ta- 

 males, etc. 



Usually a small fenced 

 field — often surrounded by dense 

 cactus jungles and mesquite 

 brush, surround such dwelling, 

 planted with corn, sugar cane, 

 pumpkins, beans, pepper, etc., 

 with perhaps also some cows and 

 goats — the latter "the poor 



the lower branches laden thick- 

 ly with ripening pecans, reach- 

 ing clear to the ground. The old 

 picturesque hut, seen reproduced, 

 herein, at first sight looked 

 as it may crumble down 

 over our heads, but on clos- 

 er inspection we lound it still 

 had a very solid hold — enough 

 to stand for many years hence. 

 The outer entrance was covered 

 with all sorts of junk — an old 

 rocking chair "de la Madama," 

 water jugs, tinware, old shoes, 

 etc. It is really wonderful — 

 and as described also in one of 



An Ancient India-Mexican Jacai. at the Leona Creek. (By (he Writer in 1S86) 



man's cow" — especially a great 

 favorite of Mexicans to prepare 

 tamales, or roasted, or barbe- 

 cued meat, etc. 



We camped at this place dur- 

 ing a cloudy and rainy day, as 

 stated, and it was surrounded 

 by large irrigated vegetable 

 and grain fields, and also by 

 the finest pecan trees met 

 all along the river bottom, 

 some of whose outstanding 

 limbs must have been at least 

 four feet in diameter, and 



the other sketches on Mexican 

 life around the Mitchell's lake 

 hunting preserve, how the Mexi- 

 can laborers adapt their skill in 

 building their huts and Jacals 

 in the jungle wilderness where 

 employed to clear the land of 

 brush and trees — or any other 

 manual work at that. During a 

 late outing near the beautiful 

 Cassin's lake, south of San An- 

 tonio, I happened to come across 

 what may be called a temporary 

 Mexican village among the Mes- 



