The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-07-20

goodness. The chief undoubtedly did
not refer to himself, for / had many
times offered him dollars in exchange
for shine-stones," as he termed them,
and always fruitlessly. At last 1 came
to the conclusion that Pad must be Ii
NEUROLOGICAL being, worshipped by the
tribe, and of this l was the more con-
vinced that on one occasion, when 1 had
by signs indicated strong desire to
know more about him or it, the chief
stalked gravely off to the river, and re-
turned shortly after with his hands filled
with sand of peculiar rusty-red color,
and, placing it upon his head, repeated,
Pad" Pad" with great earnestness
This took to be the religious formulary
of his tribe. Dollars, he could not have
failed to notice, were the objects most
dear to the white mans heart; hence
his desire that I should propitiate his di-
vinity by laying what he believed me
above all things to cherish, before the
shrine.
Soon, however, the Indians moved far
ther away from us, and, having other
things to think about, Pad the mysteri-
Gus, ceased for time to perplex my
mind. The Palace of Diamonds, a gor-
geous transformation scene my fancy
had pictured, was gradually fading
away, to give place to the dismal and
shabby accessories of the farce from real
life, "Sold again."
The sight of the scoops, and even Of
the long handles in which 1 had taken
such proper pride, began to inspire me
with an unmitigated disgust, when, turn
ing out one morning for last effort, the
pleasing fact forced itself upon me, that
my guides had disappeared, taking with
their own worthless carcasses, my two
best mules, the greater part OF the pro-
visions, and all the grog, except what
remained in my pocket-Hask. Luckily,
some grains of comfort were left in the
facts that 1 still had the two worst and
weakest mules, and that knew the way
back to San Isidro. Time is an object,
when one is rationed for limited num-
Der of days, so l set off on the return
journey at once, leaving the scoops as q
warning to the next conner how falla-
cious are the hopes of youth, and carry
ing back with me no diamonds indeed,
but plenty of-what was not without q
considerable value-experience.
The details of that wretched ride need
not be entered into; it is enough to say
that my mules were slow, the track bad,
that my brandy and temper were soon
exhausted, that 1 lived mainly upon
what my gun could provide-often too
tired at the end of the day to cock it
and the reader will appreciate the Joy
with which, on the fifth evening, l mark
ed the white washed ranches of San Isl
dro in the distance, and will understand
that its dirty little inn, tough beef and
savory meat his soul loved to the patri-
arch, or the first delicious draught of
champagne to the successful speculator
athirst with the excitement of Epsom's
great race.
After had made myself comfortable,
and dined, to speak comparatively, in
sumptuous manner, 1 lit my pipe Qong
arrears of tobacco had to be pulled up),
and with q contented mind, strolled
down the one struggling street of which
San Isidro is composed, TO the store kept
by Spanish Jew at the farther end.
Don Fernando, tho storekeeper, was
the most influential man, and the big
gest rascal in the place, and to earn the
latter distinction, he must have attained
to very advanced pitch of rascality.
He understood and could speak English
tolerably well, when it suited his conve-
nience, and, as his conversation was al
ways original and amusing, had learned
to look upon him as the redeeming fea-
ture, in point of interest, in the town.
Virtually the governor of San Isidro, he
bullied and swindled the natives openly;
they bowed, but dared not grumble be-
meath his yoke. To the local magistrate
he lent money; with Englishmen he as
sumed deprecatory and servile tone,
praised their own and abused every 9TH
er country.
The finest horses and mules were al
ways taken to Don Fernando first. Did
a dispute arise, he was the arbitrator.
If a suitor wished to gain the ear of the
court, he poured his tale of wrong into
the sympathetic ear of the storekeeper,
putting, at the same time, chinking
something into his still more sympathe-
tic hand.
AS l drew near this worthy's abode,
it was evident that some event of unu-
sual interest had aroused the San Isidri-
ans from their accustomed state of
dream-like stupidity. A fair proportion
of them stood outside the store, and
looked in as upon a gratuitous perform
ance, which afforded them intense and
lively amusement. From the inside
came succession of jerky, screeching
utterances, in no language known to
me; and mingled with them, heard at
intervals d basso-profundo blasphemy
from Don Fernando; the whole to a
babbling accompaniment of incoherent
bystanders. At first thought the in
comprehensive noise proceeded from
some animal of the monkey species, and
then from madman. L was so far right,
that the screecher seemed to possess some
of the char acteristics of both. He was
little Irishman, with fiery red hair, and
that ape-like type of face occasionally to
be met with in Tipperary; and he was
temporarily insane from extreme and
fruitless rage, which, indeed, did not
surprise me, seeing that his arms were
bound tightly behind him, and that he
was in charge of two soldiers, who, not
understanding one word he said, seemed
to regard him as curious and diverting
study.
After time, he became little cohe-
rent, and asked him what he had done
to get into that fix. At the sound OF
Saxon voice, he broke out afresh. l
could make out that he accused the
storekeeper of being a rogue, which L
thought too obvious a proposition to
cause so much excitement; that he, Pat
MOlloV had baan ohaatad-alSO a VerV