Oroville daily Butte record., 1857-04-27
Omuille Dailq Dutte Retprh.
From The Golden Era.
Adventures with joaquin,
The Mountain Bandit.
BY JOHN II. FITZGERALD.

In the spring of 1890 L lett the Sal
mas Plains with herd of cattle that
had purchased from Bernardo Murphy
and while en- route for the Southern
mines, we encamped for a night at the
Mission of San Jose, where myself and
companions were joined by company
Of Mexicans, consisting of a padre, the
the patron, Tor owner,) his wife and
wife's sister, and four poems Cor slaves
making in all eight persons Of their
company. Our party consisted Of two
partners and myself, besides a raqnero.
The padre was tall, sallow~taced
individual, but withall as iovi1l fel-
low, and as free to taste of the con-
tents Of the cantina col0rad0 as any in
the company; and then his face would
assume such a comical expression, that
one was 10th to believe that he ever
kept Lent. He was dressed in the ca
nonieals Of a Capuchin friar, he rode
dun colored mule, and sat sidewise up
on the animal, the saddle Covered with
a heavy Spanish machiHa) and bride
were decorated with small silver bells,
which kept up a jingling that was rath
er pleasant, and broke the quiet mon
otony of IA hot days ride, while rosary
beads and cross swung back and forth
upon his side, as his mule ambled along
at an easy, raoking pace. After in.
dulging in an extra draught at the can
teen, he would throw back his hood,
exposing the top Of his sheven Uranium
TO the hot suns rays, and the poems
would cross themselves at what they
considered his religious devotion, while
he ehaunted in Latin what sounded
more like bachanallan song than the
litany o, the church, for when 'ecce sig
mum este Perpetaa' escaped from his lips
in a merry, musical tone Of voice, he
would raise a splendidly wrought can
teeu from under bis cloak, and apply it
to his lips, and after a hearty draught
would add Innita Minerva and his
small, dark gray eyes would twinkle
with humorous light, as much as to say,
we know what is good, don't WEI
The patron was Young man Of
about twenty-five years. HIS hair and
eyes were black, and the effeminacy OF
his face, without beard, gave him ST.
most the appearance OF woman. His
eountenance, when unanimated, shone
with a radient expression that was sell
dom forgotten when once seen by a
stranger, but when excited, the thin
lips would contract with d, termined
energy, and the EYES fairly start from
their sockets, isflaying the depth Of
his ferling- only in his face, while his
voice be anne more muaic ii in its in
donations Ills height was about five
feet ten inches, and lis well-developed
limbs denoted strength beyond any idea
that might be formed by casual OBJ
server. His dress consisted Of daIk
velvet knee breeches with row Of sill
Yer buttons, long Spanish boots with
leather leggings, We VT vest, loose
flowing jacket, embroidered with gold
lace, and Spanish serape, his head
was covered by wide brimmed S0mbre
70, surrounded by gold band. He
rode IA large-sized mule, with heavy
silyer-mounted saddle, the leather COW
er of which was worked with antique
devices in threads of silk, silver and
gold, and he rode with the grace of one
long accustomed no the saddle.
His wife was a woman Of extraor-
binary beauty. Her complexion was
light olive, and her features were
purely Castiiian; the finely archrd
nose, thin lips, and the lsrge, lustrous
orbs of her eyes, bespoke the ancient
Moorish blood of old CASTLE that cours-
ed in her veins. The ease and grace
with which she rode her mule, gave her
more the appearance of some proud
dame ambling upon her palfry to pay
her devotion to some nei2hboring
shrine, attended by her retlnue, than
one upon long journey. The flow
ing skirt, fastened at the waist, and the
snow-white chemiSette that covered her
bosom, leaving her arms bare, and the
fapaLo of rich embroidery that cone al
ed her face and sheltered her head
from the suns's rays, only set Oft to
hotter advantage her beauty Her sis.
.., ,l,I j ~ IN a-a,x po,tiou lor