Liberty High School - Lion Yearbook (Brentwood, CA)

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The stage was very similar to those of American thea- ters. but a prompter continually read the lines of the play in a monotone audible to the audience. The hotel at which we stayed- La Lonja -was di- rectly opposite the Plaza and Cathedral. Te Plaza was very beautiful, the walks being bordered with orange trees and shrubbery. Benches were placed around on the walks and grass. A band stand was in the center of the square and every Sunday a band would play. The Cathedral was also very interesting. It was very large and grand, the arch at the altar being upwards of ninety feet in height and it is said that in the structure of the Cathedral not a single nail was employed. The sound of the numerous bells, which ring at all hours, night and day. producing a confusion of sounds, is very striking to a for- eigner. We spent the next day watching the natives in the plaza, and making preparations for the most interesting part of our trip-eighty-seven miles mule back into the heart of the Republic. It was there that I first developed my love for equestrianism, but owing to my lack of ability, I rode the same mule as did my father. We used steamer trunks and telescope baskets for our belongings, as the only way of transporting our baggage through the mountains was on the hurricane deck of a mule. We sent eight pack and four riding mules ahead. about one o'clock in the afternoon. which were to wait for us at lmala. about four miles from Culiacan. lThe Mexicans speak of distances in so many hours mule back instead of in miles! About four o'clock that afternoon we started for Imala in a carriage, as the roads between there and Culacan were fairly good. lVery poor in comparison with Brentwood roads.J The mode of traveling in a carriage was somewhat dif- ferent than the American way. There were three mules in th lead and two at the wheel. One man ran alongside of the team with a whip and throwing stones while the other sat on the seat the lines in one hand and a whip in the other and both men were shouting as loud as they could. The blood was running from the backs and sides of the mules where they had beenpwhipped. While the drivers were shouting, whipping and throwing stones the mules kept up a comparatively good gait, but their legs and the noise al- ways ceased at the same time. Such clamor and brutality frightened me considerably and 1 made nearly as much noise crying as the drivers did with their shouting. The climax was reached when the mules Weill over a four-foot bank into a river bed, and the driver fell off the seat and was dragged by the mules. After that my father was -compelled to keep his hands over my eyes. Imala was red hot about eight o'clock at night and we were more than thankful to get off the jolting carriage and on terra firma once more. We had the usual supper of tortillas, frijolas and black coffee in a little hut. The rooms were so small and stuffy that we preferred sleeping in an open room something like a porch which was used for kitchen. parlor and sitting room. Cui' beds consisted of one small tarima. This tarimiu was a square wooden frame od

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ls also a day nf proflt. as Americans cannot resist buying the Mexican curios. On steamer day the young girls come on board the Curacoa with dainty lace handkerchlefs, pll- low covers. napkins. table cloths and various other articles made by the tireless tlngers of the Mexican women. On the l2th we arrived at Mazatlan and went ashore ln a rowboat owned by a negro called Bob, who is known to all Americans golng down the western coast of Mexico. After the usual routine and ransacklng of baggage in the custom house we took a carriage into the clty. An American doctor and his family asked us to dinner and lt was here we enjoyed our flrst Mexican dinner. The meal was truly enjoyed, especially the dessert. which was a chlrmoilla. a fruit which thrives in the mountains ot' Mexico. so of course. was considered a luxury on the coast Thls frult looks like an artichoke with the leaves stuck together on the outside. while on the inside it reminds you of Ice cream with watermelon seeds ln lt. After dinner we took a horse car. very similar to the old-time horse cars of Sacramento. and went to the market. Here you could buy not only any kind of eatable, but fancy goods and novelties of all sorts. The Cathedral. one of the handsomest on the western coast. was vlslted, and one cannot help belng Inspired with the peace and solenmlty of the atmosphere, as no one ever speaks above a whisper except the Padres. The religious devotion of the Mexican ln his own country ls something we do not flnd anywhere in Callfornla. The arena was visited. but the bull llght was to be at too late an hour for us to witness. as the boat was to leave scon after. The Toreadors and Matadom were already mak- ing preparations for their brutal sport. The Toneadors are the men who tease the bull. but the Matadors do the killing. These Matadors are usually very gorgeously dressed. Their halr is shaved except a narrow strip in front which is hushed over the forehead. and a little bit on the crown of the head which is worn ln a small queue. We drove through several streets where the houses had been burned to arrest the spread of the plague. We also passed by an entire block which was reserved for a nesting place of the Zopllote. la red-headed buzzardr as they are the natural scavengers of the city. So many Americans vislt Mazatlan, and so many of the richer class of Mexicans visit California. almost every sea son, that it ls not an uncommon thing to see the Mexican Senors or Senorltas in the fashionable attire of the States. Another night on the water and we reached our port. Altata. Such an experience! We had dinner at a one- storied hut. The Hotel. but the hospitality extended to us made us feel thoroughly at home. On the next day we tcok .a forty mile ride on a rail- road called the Occidental, but more commonly known In the Americans as the Accidental Line of Rust. lf one was in a hurry I would advise taking a burro for the short distance. Cullacan was reached at six P. M., where we went to a gcod sized hotel and had our supper. Although very tired and dusty from our trip we were ready at eight o'clock to visit the theater. .

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four legs. with rawhlde interwoven across the top. Three in such a bed as this would not have been at all comfort- able, lf we had not been tired out with our trlp. About ll o'cloclt at night we laid tarlma for a good rest, as we supposed. down on our untll 4 o'clock next morning. After a short while we were awakened by a heavy breathing and groaning. and with the sensation that someone was hunting among our belongings for any treas' ure they might be able to find. Cautiously lighting a lan- tern and more cautlously peering under the bed we found the Intruder-or intruders-a mother pig and her bables. Thls was something to which we became accustomed before the end of the journey. Although we started at a very early hour the next morning we took time to visit the ruins of a very fashion- able resort. The bulldlng was in ruins but there was still traces of grandeur about the old mansion. We vlsited the hot mineral springs also. The women had already begun to do thelr washlng at the sprlngs. The water was 7 hot In some places that they could boll the clothes nildtng ts boiler out of a wall of rocks. I Other parts of the springs, were cool enough for the washing to be done by There was also a bathing house over the springs. A -- After resuming our trlp for a short distance wel were compelled to take our mules owing to the lmpassablllty of the road for the carriage. arrlvlng that nlght at Cofredla. Cofreida ls nothing but a small collection of huts ln the mldat of a tlne cattle country. The corral fences. and some of the doorsteps of the houses. were made of the tlnest klnrl of mahogany. the more unclvllized Mexicans not knowing the value of the wood. The following day we entered what ls known through that country' as the Qnebrada, which is a canyon through which flows a rlver. ln the season I was there. the dry season. the rlver was passable, but it cannot be crossed during the rainy weather, from June to October. because lt ls So swollen. In some places the Quebrada rivals the Yosemite Val- ley ln splendor. For about one-thlrd of a mile the sides of the river bed are so high and steep that the sky is almost invisible to the traveler. This place is called Hell Gate by the Americans, as during the months that the river is swollen. the waters rushing through lt must surely repre- sent an inferno. The marks of the high water upon the walls of the canyon can be seen at least forty or fifty feet alzove the travelers' head. The next particular point that attracted our attention was an old quartz mill. The dura- blllty of the flne masonry ln the mlll was proven by the gcod condition of the cement wall which withstood the tre- mendous volume of water for over forty-tive or tlfty years. The aqueducts which brought the water to thls mill fol- lowed along the banks of the Quebrada for four or llve miles. and crossing the canyons on great arches that were made of cement and rocks cemented together. These aque- ducts were also ln a good state of preservation and th-- whole structure showed a very flue piece of work. After a day's travel we left the Quebrada. Now camo the roughest part of our journey. We traveled from 4