Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-05-24
Correspondents New York Eyenfng Pc


which Cortez built his Vera Cruz and sank his
ships before beginning his march into the in-
terror, stands the famous national bridge, bet
ter pe tha By Its oa the
doubtless been the scene of more robberies than
any other single spot In all this robber- haunted
land; For the country that Montezuma ruled
and CorteZ conquered Is the paradise OF rob-
Ders. Every variety of the craft thrives here,
from the petty thief who steals ones handker-
chief to the daring highwayman who makes
little Of fierce fight with its escort. In every
city in the land, when darkness shrouds the
streets, the robber and assassin issues from his
lair with knife, sword and lasso The broad
glare OF day even. is not always a pro
lection. The press frequently directs the at
tention OF the authorities 1 to the boldness and
noon. There is scarcely 3 road in Mexico
two miles from q city that is not infested
with bandits. and the traveller IS generally
have any thing to lose are always careful how
they walk the streets at night. In the City OF
Mexico some years since band OF midnight
kept the whole city in frenzy OF fear and piled
their nefarious calling for long months before
tardy justice overlook them: They derived
their name from the habit Of stripping stark
naked and amounting themselves with oil,
making their seizure and retention almost an
inpossibllity. Down in the purlieus of this
city, In the thieves resort, am told the banker
sits at the monte table with a long Catalan
knife, pointed as needle and as keen as q
razor, and warns the eager crowd that. If any
caVaiero pretends to mistake the bank for his
Crimes which in any other country would form
The subject of comment for weeks here pass
comparatively unnGtlced, :and as often go
stories OF robDeries which one hears, some of
them Of thrilling interest and romantic charac-
ter.
memory that q considerable town In the interior
became the scene OF a robbery which has, In al
the essential characteristics, been repeated in
other parts OF the country. AS the 1nhabitant,
or the place were about their morning work q
large band Of horsemen rode into the plaza
The party presented the usual appearance Of
lncensed patriots whose rights had been tramp
leo upon by the temporary government, against
which they were about to issue pronnncIa
mento. So the town folks simply shru sged their
shoulders and said 1t was none OF tneir affair
In less than quarter OF an hour, however the
aspect II things changed. A line Of pickets was
thrown about the town, preventing fngress and
egress. While the dismountGi patriots began
s3 Systematically to pluuder tie place. Nothing
escaped them; private houses and stores came
all alike to the bandits, and the pillage con-
Then, collecting their loot, they mounted and
rode off in the regular order In which they had
come. Whence they came no one knew; whittier
robbery Of a specfe-laden train on the Vera Cruz
railway, not long since, was conducted In the
same hfghhanGed manner.
The low-caste Mexican is peculiarly fitted for
the trade OF an assassin and q rObber. A few
dollars Is fortune to him, and stab Is a small
matter. 1t is easier to kill his victim and de-
spoil him at his leisure than to take the chances
OF attacking man who may perhaps offer a
successful resistance. Almost certain OF abso-
luton from his priest, who ranks but little
higher In the scale OF civilization than himself,
for the sake Of the few dollars that Will enable
him to give free rein to his sensuality or to
WOO the tickle goddess at the monte table
"El cuchtllo no serena nj truena," (the knife
vi fl1
breakfasting on a sunbeam and dining off
paper cigar, to borrow an expression, the
lepero is constantly tempted by his want
and laztness TO the commission Of crime. The
very sight OF a pulque shop, of whose tempting
beverages he lacks the means to partake, or
the fragrant aroma OF the market frying pans,
whose contents are not for him, are SUFFICIENT
Incentives to robbery, for which the lonely
roads offer a safe opportunity. The Mexican
stage coach and the long, unfrequented high
designed for the especial benefit Of the Knights
of the road. A carriage halted, the passengers
are requested in the politest manner to alight
The loerian never forgets his manners, even
the public highway. The customary order,
"Cava en- TERRA" face to the groundj, is then
given, to which the unwilling victim is ex-
searches his person. II priest be of the party,
however, the bandit generally deviates from his
customary routine. Instead OF ordering him
and, bending In mock humility before him,
asks for aims; request which the priest
understands to be equivalent to q demand for
his purse and valuables. Priests are favorite
ants, the bandit is pretty certain to escape q
fight which he Is only too anxious to avoid; be-
sides, The holy man generally travels with full
purse or at the very least can give his blessing.
SO well Is this fact known that II several priests
take passage in the same coach it is almost Inn
possible to get any one else to ride in 1t. "The
the passengers have been searched the baggage
Is ransacked, when, II no resistance has been
offered, the coach Is permitted to proceed upon
its way. Natives OF the country, probably ac-
custOmed to being despoiled from Infancy, sell
dom of1er resistance, generallS ,preferrng to pay
gratIity to the first band OF robbers encoun-
tered, which exemptS them from further de-
mands on the road. On this account Indians
they say, "are bad; but robbers are not dan
gerous, for II you give them what they ask
dit, wisely calculating that some one may be
killed, and not knowing but that one may be
himself, seldom attacks coach containing for
eigners known to be armed. There is something
SO terribly certain about the aim Of an Ameri-
can especially that he generally waits for an
easier prey. When the stage stops for the
night, or at some station to change horses, the
rich booty, and the passengers have the appear
ance OF soft customers, they are certain to be
attacked as soon as the first chapparal is
reached. But Well-arned travellers, with that
steady look Of resistance SO easily read, may
travel anywhere. To the inefficiency of the
Mexican troops may Ialrly Oe attributed the
general prevalence OF robbery and crime
throughout the country.
WYeatlls Of Tulle and an Opera Hat.
Nine. Taglloni's horror of the wreath of tulle
which the ballet dancer OF the present day
wears around her waist is quite interesting.
And 1t is not only In the cause OF mOdeSty, but
OF art that she objects to the fashion. 1t may
well be asked whether anything more ugly and
Offering greater offense to the beauty of the
human form could be invented. Nine Tagli-
oni would not find 1t so hard to approve The
fashion IL it were only tndecorous, Instead Of
being ugly as well, although she herself was
never persuaded to wear a petticOat which
would show her knee. She has been audaciOus
enough to believe that feminine modesty Can
be as fascinating as feminine 1mmodesty; her
creed being, that the very foundation OF the
art OF dancing is never to forget ones sex as so
many dancers do. Once at Milan, an Austrian
gentlemen, to whom she had a letter OF intro
duction, when calling upon her, made this pa
thetic appeal: "Oh! Nine. TagltOni Will you ex-
cuse my asking you whether 1t would not be
possible to have your skirts made little
shorter" Madame replied by another question:
"Allow me to ask you IL you are married."
'No," he answered. "If you were married,
would you like to see your wife or your damgh-
tiers In such short dress?' "Why, no." swell"
said Madame, 81 dance not for you, but for
wives and daughters" In Russia, on one oc-
casiOn when Tagltoni was dancing, some one
told the EmDerOr Nicholas that IL was imnOSSi-