Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 2.djvu/141

Rh since the war. The well known Mexican serape, or poncho,—an oblong garment, pierced in the centre to allow the passage of the head, and which falls in graceful folds from the shoulders of a horseman over his person—is one of the most generally demanded fabrics from native looms. These blankets are often of beautiful texture, composed of the richest materials and colors, and, according to the fineness of their wool and weaving, vary in cost from twenty-five to five hundred dollars. The serape is an indispensable article, both for use and luxury, for the lepero as well as the caballero, and being as much needed by men as the reboso, or long cotton shawl, is by the women, it may readily be conceived how great is the consumption of these two articles of domestic manufacture alone. There are between five and six thousand hand looms throughout the several states, and these are continually engaged in the fabrication of rebosos and serapes, the latter of which are most exquisitely dyed and woven in tasteful patterns in the neighborhood of Saltillo.