378 



RECREATION 



curred to me of exclaiming that I was 

 desirous of seeing the vistas, that I 

 could overcome their protest against 

 the unheard of solecism of a first-class 

 passenger riding second. 



But the railroad will never entirely 

 banish traveling on horseback. This is 



Near to oibe's idea of savage beauty 



the traditional means of getting about, 

 and the broken and mountainous char- 

 acter of the country often makes other 

 expedients out of the question. 



There is little about your thin, stunt- 

 ed, yo-necked and cat-hammer steed 



to remind you of the fact that he is 

 descended from the great war horses 

 of old Castile. But, perched upon that 

 mountain of leather, the Mexican sad- 

 dle, he bears his rider as easily as his an- 

 cestor bore his weight of armor-plate 

 and pride. And although his faithful- 

 ness is apt to be, at the hands of the 

 ordinary "greaser," rewarded with ne- 

 glect and even cruelty, he universally 

 displays a sagacious carefulness of his 

 master. He waits patiently outside of 

 fonda 1 or pidqueria 2 , and when that 

 worthy is too lazy to dismount, which is 

 frequently the case, he even trots 

 through the low doorway and out again, 

 as demurely as a cat. 



Alas for romance, it is no uncommon 

 sight to see him picking his way 

 home through the dark with his 

 rider so drunk as to be unable to 

 more than keep his seat ' or when 

 the cargo of pulque taken aboard 

 by that worthy is too heavy to 

 allow even of that. The faith- 

 ful horse watches over its master with 

 dog-like faithfulness as the inebriate 

 lies in heavy slumber by the roadside. 



But his station is not always so mean. 

 When his master is some wealthy haci- 

 endado, who endeavors to realize in his 

 person the chivalry of old Spain, the 

 horse is at his best, and a gallant best it 

 is. Enveloped in crimson zerape, his hat, 

 jacket and trousers a glory of gold or 

 silver embroidery, he sweeps by us in 

 the prismatic sunshine like some gor- 

 geous tropic bird, the jingle of silver 

 mingling with the clatter of hoofs. 

 Every part of his outfit, pistols, spurs, 

 curb chain and bit, are silver or silver 

 mounted, while his sombrero is adorned 

 with his monogram or initials cut sol- 

 idly out of precious metal. 



The haciendado is the feudal lord o! 

 the countryside. If you give him an op- 

 portunity of displaying his hospitality he 

 fills the part. He is an imposing figure, 

 accompanied by a heavily-armed retain- 

 er, as he dashes up to the doorway of the 



1 Grocery store or restaurant. 



2 Saloon. 



