A STREET IN THE VILLAGE OE CEDROS 



Photo by J. E. Kirkwood 



On the left the peons' quarters, on the right the garden wall. "The homes of peons are 

 either huddled in groups or scattered about the outskirts, and, though mostly permanent 

 structures built of adobe, they are arranged in no definite order, but are set up wherever 

 chance or the convenience of the builder dictated" (see text, page 566). 



it, rambles over several acres of ground. 

 Its front elevation, like that of many 

 other mansions of the land, is innocent 

 of any suggestion of artistic effort, and 

 rises a plain, white-washed wall, broken 

 only by the deep-set and securely grated 

 windows and the heavy doors. It rises 

 30 feet to the parapet, providing two 

 stories in the main building, though its 

 adjoining structures have but one. Be- 

 fore recent improvements substituted a 

 stronger wall for the old parapet, loop- 

 holes were still visible here and there. 

 The doors of the main entrance, like 

 those of the church, are ponderously 

 built of hewn timbers and, being barred, 

 offer effectual resistance to any seeking 

 entrance by force. 



There seem to be no available records 

 of the building of this house. A date 

 legible upon one of the beams within is 

 1 73 1, which appears to be the date of 

 certain repairs. The building, however, 



in essential respects seems as good as 

 when first built. The lower walls are 

 nearly 4 feet in diameter, though 2 feet, 

 the usual thickness of adobe walls, afford 

 ample protection against the burning 

 heat of summer. 



Notwithstanding the prejudice which 

 might naturally arise against sun-dried 

 brick as a desirable or durable building 

 material, they have been immensely use- 

 ful in many forms of construction over 

 a large part of the North American con- 

 tinent. They came extensively into serv- 

 ice, probably, through the force of neces- 

 sity, where other materials were scarce or 

 difficult to work, but they have abun- 

 dantly demonstrated their usefulness. It 

 would be difficult to imagine houses bet- 

 ter adapted to the hot, dry climate of the 

 plateau than the adobe, properly con- 

 structed, which, when well finished, is 

 clean and may be even beautiful in 

 design. 



568 



