12 Y
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE 23, 1918.
In the Centennial Year of
Mexican Independence
Night Ceremony
of Ringing Again
That Historic
Liberty Bell
(Continued from Preceding Page)
. temptations of either effete civiliza
tion or more ordinary degeneracy.
Tehuantepec town spreads over the
hills on two sides of the river. The
architecture is characteristically Mex
ican, chiefly adobe houses facing nar
row streets centering in a plaza which
is also a . market place. There are
some beautiful groves of cocoanut
palms and banana trees near by. The
railroad cuts through the town and
bridges the river. The churches oc
cupy prominent cites and show in
terior evidences of poverty.
Town of Tehuantepec.
' Among the inhabitants, who are of
the Zapotecan tribe, tracing them
selves back with unmixed blood to
before the Aztec days, the women are
largely preponderant in numbers. The
fact is, the women of Tehuantepec
are far-famed for beauty of figure and
face. They are of a light brown
color, clear complexion, good features
and intelligent countenances. They
stand erect, carry their bundles or
water jars on their heads, are clean
and comely, which is the exception
and not the rule in Mexican natives.
The women of Tehuantepec are the
Leads of the family; they are the bus
iness men; they, run the shops and
stores and in the market they do the
buying and selling. They have for
years been pursuing all the occuna
k tions our own "new woman" has only
lately undertaken to break ", into.
saw no signs of any suffrage move-
; nient and heard no cries that sounded
like "We want votes but if there is
ny place in the world where women
- aught to get votes for thi asking, if
:ney really want them, this is the
jpot. lehuantcpec women further
more have the reputation of being
moaest, auectionate, devoted and
constant, and many are the talcs told
ot lonesome foreigners hired to mat
rmionial entanglements through their
rapturous wiles. -
Dress Makes the Girl
The dress that stamps a person as
hailing from Tehuantepec consists of
a skirt ot dark-figured cloth finished
at the bottom with a deeo white.
fluted ruffle and a sleeveless jacket of
similar ngured Dut ditterent colored
cloth cut low at the neck and reach
ing to the waist.- These jackets are
beautifully embroidered, sometimes
entirely by hand, but more usually
merely hand-stitched on a sewing ma
chine (the American sewing machine,
by the way, being the furniture piece
de resistance in nearly every Mexican
household). When they raise their
arms or stoop over, the jacket and
skirt fail to connect This ' costume
is usually, but not always, topped off
wun a peculiar nead dress, likewise
of fluted white lace or embroidery,
which I am at a, loss to describe ex-
"f, Mia l IG3CIUU1CS B
Mane Antoinette collar in two pieces,
one piece pulled up over the head and
the other dropped to the middle of
the backy v . :.vv7::
Those who axe able deck them
selves out with necklace of either
coral or gold beads set off with Amer
ican gold coins, preferably the $2.50
or $5 denm . atians. It is related
that originally these chains were
linked up with solid gold slugs, for
whictr the thrifty 49ers crossing the
isthmus during the California fever,
volunteered to substitute the more ar
tistic and beautiful gold coins in each
case with a substantial profit to
themselves and thua establish the
fashion in necklace, which has per-
dyrtd i?Lthi day- I persuaded one
of the Tehuantepec belles to part with
the corals she was wearing, and some
of our party bought gold beads, but
not in the same way, off the wearer's
neck.'?,.;. -..-;;
Enterprise of the Tradesman.
i Although I can prove an alibi for
myself, I will not mention names, but
this story is well attested ami can h
verified. Ah enterprising Tehuante-I
pec tradeswoman' offend for sale
dazzling chain of gold beads,' but as I
the price seemed prohibitive, and i
brought no bidders, she divided the!
cnam into three pieces and , offered
one of them for $10. One of our
party had a 10-dollar bill changed
into silver and starting at $5 went for
the chain as if it were on the auction
block by holding out his coins and
adding a half dollar at a time until
he got up to $9.50, where the parley
ing seemed to reach the point where
there was nothing to arbitrate. Final
ly as a compromise he agreed to put
in the other half dollar antl huw at
the original price on condition that
two more beads be added to the!
chain. His chuckling and . crowing j
over the achievement in making, the '
saleswoman come across even to j
' that extent, however, soon gave way
to misgivings.and when later the '
purchase was exposed to the acid I
test, the unfeeling jeweler imparted1
the confidential information that the!
beads were 18-carat brass, but so I
skillfully coated with gold wash as j
to. deceive any one not an expert 1
Reverse Rules of Modesty. !
What I have described thus in de- j
tail is the women's dress, the men i
being clad in the ordinary attire and !
me cauaren, wnen ciad at an, were
miniatures of their elders, '.here is
this peculiar modification in Tehuan
tepec of our rule of modesty that
public nakedness is accorded to the
'ittle boys only, while the infant girls
nust be covered, no matter how
scantily. The same rule applies to
the elders when they go bathing in
. the river. The men swim around
quite au naturelle while women dis
play abbreviated bathing suits which
: would cause consternation rather
than envy on an Atlantic City bath
ing beach. .;''. 1
In our, honor as a party of visiting
newspaper men, a grand ball was ar
ranged for our evening's- entertain
ment Our whole party under escort
and headed by a band of native musi
cians marched from the station
through the town, forming a proces
r'on which for bizarre effect would
! ve outshown the centennial parades
ii Mexico City. We brought up at a
I rge enclosed building of ; bamboo
r id thatched roof construction, dimly
I htedy lanterns and furnished
!y with a few chairs along two
sMcg. I could not make out for what
i tie building was used ordinarily, but
saw a couple of chickens roosting in
far corner.
Natives Dance the Two-Step.
Our native orchestra established
itself on one side of the room and we
made ourselves at home on the other,
while gradually the belles of the ball
gathered decked out in all their
finery. ' They first gave us an exhi
bition of their native dance, which
is very pleasing to the eye, five
couples going through the steps and
poses. The dancers kept at a little
distance from one another passing
back and forth with rhythmical move
ments of arms and body as well as
feet, remotely suggestive of the bal
ancing in our quadrilles. The sur
prise part of the party came when the
music swung into a waltz and then
into a two-step, and the Tehuantepec
girls accepted the to them unintelli
gible invitation extended by the vis
itors to trip the light fantastic, ac
cording to the rules of our own ball
room games. And it may be said
that these barefooted women dancing
on a dirt floor proved thatjhey could
go through the mazes of a waltz and
pace the two-step with a grace and
skill not only unexpected in the
shadows of a little Indian town nest
ling under the tropics, but calculated
to put to a real test our own best
dancers if they entered in competi
tion. One number not on the program
should come in at least for a mention
a real earthquake that was pulled
off in the middle of the performance
apparently for our delectation. This
was an up-and-down earthquake and
very perceptible, the tremor of the
ground lasting quite a few seconds.
It attracted momentary attention,
but did not extinguish the lights and
the natives, accustomed to the seisimic
demonstrations, went right along
with their mirth and music as if
nothing had happened.
,vThe next day brought us the final
adventure -among' these interesting
people. A little boy about 11 years
old accosted as he was coming out of
school with Spanish school books
under his arm, had been very accom
modating in answering questions and
showing some of us around, and had
pursued the acquaintance by coming
down to our train. He disclosed the
information that he had never been
on a railway car, and although less
than 20 miles from the Pacific, had
never seen the ocean, much less an
ocean steamer. Just as we were pull
ing out some one asked him if he
would like to come along, and receiv
ing an affirmative reply, quickly got
permission from an uncle who was
standing near, and swung him on to
the step. We could see the ominous
looks on the faces of the crowd as
they saw the boy apparently kid
naped before their very eyes. The
bold, bad white men who wanted to
take the beads they were wearing
from their necks had seized and swal
lowed up little Maximo, just as
Cortez had done with their forefath
ers a few centuries before, and as
some band of ruthless invaders had
done periodically ever since.
His Return a Miracle.
But Maximo was by no means dis
consolate; on the contrary, he was all
eyes, ears and amazement The in
terior of the train was to him like
Fairyland. He manifested no distrust
nor apprehension. Why should he care
where he went? He had a. loose
blouse shirt of black and white check
and a pair of cotton trousers, probably
all the wardrobe he ever owned at
one time, and he was going to see the
world. Upen-mouthed and awe-in
spired, he gazed at the waves as they
rolled in; he watched the big majestic
ships at the wharf and saw one of
them sail out beyond the horizon. He
went through the warehouses and
puzzled over the electric cranes with
colossal loads balanced in midair. He
sat in our dining car at luncheon and
ate strange foods; he answered ques
tions and asked more of them. He
picked up a short acquaintance with
some of the youngsters who lived in
this harbor town, and he climbed
aboard the train homeward bound
with the air of a child having been
to his first picnic. It was a short run
to Tehuantepec, and as we went
''( .?K
'
Norman C. Gault
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
i
,758-9 Omaha National
Bank Building.
through the town Maximo pushed his
way out upon the platform where he
could see nis friends easier than they
could catch sight of him as we passed.
It was their turn for astonishment
again, and we could hear the exclama
tions, "Why, there he is." "He is
really coming back." "Look at Maxi
mo I" ' And when the boy was safely
redeposited at the railway station,, it
was a certainty trom the way tney
jostled around him that he would be
a seven-day wonder in Tehuantepec,
where, for all I know, he is still re
counting his strange experiences of
that day. ' Y. K.
I
R. J. MADDEN
Graduate Creighton Law Callege
Practicing Attorney in Omaha Since 1913
At Present Police Judge
A. A. McLaughlin
i
i
i
i
j WM. A. SCHALL
m
I
l
SMITH, SCHALL & HOWELL,
937 Omaha National Bank BIdg.
Mr. McLaughlin was born on May 13, 1868, on a
farm in Hamilton "County, Iowa, where his parents,"
natives of Ohio, had settled in 1856. He wag educated
in the country schools and Iowa state college at Ames,
graduating with the class of 1889. He studied law in
the yniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and grad
uated therefrom in June, 1892, He was admitted to the
bar of Iowa on October 5, 1892," and thereafter en
v gaged in the general practice of the law in Des Moines.
On March 1, 1903, he became assistant attorney for
the Chicago & Northwestern Railway company of Iowa
and continued in such capacity until October 1, 1912,
, during all of said time engaging also in general
practice. On October 1, 1912. he came to Omaha to is--sume
the duties of attorney for the Chicago & North
western Railway Co. for the state pf Nebraska,, At
f present Ass't GenSolicitor with headquarters at Chi
cago, retaining general supervision for South Pakota,
Wyoming, Minnesota and Nebraska. . v '
John
Wharton
, If anyone was asked tohoose from Omaha's business men an
example of what a poor boy can do in this great country of ours
he could safely pick out Attorney John C. Wharton, former post
master of the city. Reared on an Illinois farm, of people who
ere much nearer the poor station in life than the rich, Mr.
Wharton found time to attend the public schools and later made
the opportunity to attend college. He carried off the class honors
as valedictorian and after graduation opened law offices, be
coming state's attorney of Mercer county, Illinois, in the first
year of his practice. It was in 1888 that he came to Omaha,
where he practiced law for. many years, the only interruption
4o his business being when he was appointed postmaster of Omaha.
Early in life Mr. Wharton realized that the west was bound to
grow And invested his spare earnings in land, some of his in
vestments having returned to him with such good profit that he
is well' off today. As an example of what perseverance, faith
fulness to public and private trust in him, and an intensive study
of his profession will do for a man in the west, Mr. Wharton
stands forward in the front rank of successful business men.
'' ' " 'iy: ' ' ' " "
pfyfrjA ftf rV;v
' v i
Raymond T. Coffey
Attorney at Law
City Natl Bank BuBAi
Graduate of Notre Dame University;
Creighton Law School
Engaged in General Practice for Last 5 Years
Specializing in Corporation Law
r
John L
Webster
ATTORNEY AT LAW '
EUnding forth as a strong, powerful personality, John Lee Webiter pr.
ents a varied character to his fellow citizens of Omaha. In his profession ha
represents a masterful mind, with power and determination to dissect and con
quer the problem before him and he has been for years a leader among tha at
torneys of Omaha and Nebraska.
Prominent as he is as a lawyer of the highest caliber. Mr. Webster tat tha'
role of a painstaking investigator and student has made himself a leader la ail -lines
of art, philosophy, and nn the broadening one's m nd to the h h.r hip., 3 ot -life.
Ha la the founder of tha Friends of Art Association to cultivate a lova for
art among Omaha people and is also founder of tha Pallmpset Club, a group ef
professional and business men who meet to hear distinguished literary, acieniifie
nd philosophical masters talk on the subjects.
Mr. Webster is not one who does not find-time from his Fturii to be ortive
In his life. Born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1847, he graduated from Union
college as Bachelor of Arts and in 1893 was given an LL.D. degree there. Re be- '
Kan the prert ee of Jaw in 18t8 in Ohio and came to imtlin . . 1 ;. a
member of the legislature here three years later and was chairman of the Ne
braska constitutional convention in 1875, a meeting which he had dona much to
bring about. He has been prominent in republican politie.il circle f-r y-r. h- - "
been endorsed for vice president by the Nebraska republican convention fat 1904.
Some of the most prominent cases which Mr. Webster has fought out in the
courts are the famous maximum railroad rate eases, the bank guaranty law eases
and the Omaha water works litigation.' One of the interesting pieces of leg is- ,
lation won by him was in favor of the Standing Bear and Pnnca Ina-ma. and s nee '
his winning it there have been numbers ef cases decided on the precedent -established.
. ...
Prominent wher-ver ther are gatherinifs diwass'i civic welfir- rr m---,, "
ef art and culture, John Lee Webster stands as an artlet whose lova for the beau- t "
if ...1 1 kUM 1. . -1 1 iH M ttu..tlH, A 1uI.It... mhh
iSjjS.i: i' ri nnob act lit"- ifitn cl5
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