American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-11-07
TAKING THE CHANCES.

TAKING THE CHANCES.
THE following thrilling narrative i.
translated from the Spanish. A captain
of the Mexican insurgent army is givins
an account of meditated night attach
upon a hacienda situated in the Cordil
leras and occupied by large force OF
Spanish soldiers. After a variety of de
tails he continues:
Having arrived at the hacienda un
perceived, thanks for the obscurity of d
moonless night, we came to halt under
some large trees at some distance from
the building and L rode forward from my
troop in order to recOnnoiter the place
The hacienda, so far as l could see in
gliding across, formed a huge, massive
parallelogram, strengthened by enormous
buttresses of hewn stone Along this
chasm the walls of the hacienda almost
formed the continuation of another per.
pendicular one, chiseled by nature her
self in the rocks, to the bottom of which
the eye could not penetrate, for mists
which necessarily boiled up from below
did not allow it to measure their awful
depth. This was known in the country
by the name of The Valadero'
- l had explored all sides of the build
ing excepting this when l know not what
scruple of military honor melted me to
continue my ride along the ravine which
protected the rear of the hacienda. Be
tween the walls and the precipice there
was narrow pathway about six feet
wide; by day the passage would have
been dangerous but by night it was a
perilous enterprise. The walls of the
farmhouse took an extensive sweep, the
path crept around their entire basement,
and to follow it to the end in the dark
ness, only two PAGES from the edge of a
perpendicular chasm, was no very easy
task even for as practiced a horseman as
myself. Nevertheless l did not hesitate
but boldly urged my horse toward the
walls of the farm house and the abyss of
the Valadero. l had got over half the
distance without accident when, all of a
sudden, my horse neighed aloud. This
neigh made me shudder. l had just
reached a pass where the ground was
just wide enough for the four legs of a
horse and it was impossible to retrace
my steps.
"'Hellor l exclaimed aloud, at the
risk of betraying myself, which was even
less dangerous than encountering horse
men in front of me on such road.
There is a Christian passing along the
ravine. Keep back
1t was too late. At that moment a
man on horseback passed around one of
the buttresses which obstructed this ac-
cursed pathway. He advanced toward
me.
90 For the love of God, can you re-
turn l exclaimed, terrined at the fear
full situation in which we both were
placed
Impossibler replied the horseman.
II recommended my soul to God. To
turn our horses round for want of room,
to back them along the path we had trav-
eled, or even to dismount from them
these were three impossibilities, which
placed us both IN the presence of fear
full doom. Between two horsemen SO
placed upon this fearful path, had they
been father and son, one OF them must
inevitably become the prey of the abyss.
But few seconds had passed and we
were already face to face-the unknown
and myself. Our horses were head to
head, and their nostrils, dilated with ter
ror, mingled together their fiery breath
ings. Both of US halted in dead 81
1ence. Above was the smooth and lofty
wall of the hacienda; on the other side,
but three feet distant from the wall,
opened the horrible gulf. Was it an en-
envy 1 had before my eyes? The love of
my country, which boiled at the period
in my young bosom, led ME to hope it
was.
"sAre you for Mexico and the Insur-
gents.' l exclaimed in a moment of ex-
element, ready to spring upon the un-
the negative.
".Merico G Insurgente-that is my pass
port replied the cavalier. 8 am the
Colonel, Garduro.'
- am the Captain, Castanos.
"Our acquaintance was of long stand
ing; and but for mutual agitation we
should have had no need TO exchange our
names. The Colonel had left us two
days since at the head of the detach-
-I.rr Snd IN hD hDr
prisoner, or cut off, for he had not been
seen to ret i'm TO camp.
"'Well, Colonel l exclaimed, Il am
sorry you are not IA Spaniard, for y.u
perceive that one of us must yield the
pathway to the other
"Our horses had the brides on their
necks, and put my hands to the holster
of my saddle to draw out my pistols.
81 see that so plainly returned the
Colonel with alarming GOODNESS, that
should already have blown out the brains
of your horse but for the fear that mine,
in IA moment of terror, should precipitate
me, with yourself, to the bottom of the
abyss
d remarked, in fact, that the Colonel
already held his pistols in his hands. We
both maintained almost profound silence.
Our horses felt the danger like ourselves,
and remained as immovable as if their
feet were mailed to tine ground. My ex-
citement had entirely subsidized. What
are you going to do?' demanded of the
Colonel.
"'Draw lots to see which of the two
shall lead into the ravine.'
"a 1t was in truth the sole means of
solving the difficulty. There are, never
theless, some precautions to take" said
the Colonel.
go He who shall be condemned by the
lots shall retire backward. 1t will be
but feeble chance for escape for him,
admit, but, in short, there is chance
and especially in favor of the winner
80 You cling not to life, them l cried
terrified at the sang froid with which
this proposition was put to me.
al cling to life more than yourself,
sharply replied the Colonel, for have a
mortal outrage to avenge. But the time
is fast slipping away. Are you ready tC
proceed to draw the last lottery at which
one of us will ever exist?'
How were we to proceed to this
drawing by lot? By means of the wet
fingers, like the schoolboysg This way
was impracticable. Our hands imprudent.
ly stretched over the heads of our fright.
ened horses might give them fatal
start Should we toss up piece of coin
the night was too dark to enable US to
distinguish which side fell upward The
Colonel bethOught him of an expcdient
of which should never have dreamed.