The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-03-22
THE WILD NAN OF Ia P4I.
ny HROADERfN.

The world has been startled at various
! times by stories of Wild men and wild
women. Some were confined in dungeons,
chained like wild beasts, while others
sought their homes in mountain caves or
forest lnugles, av"idng, like a pestilence,
the abudes and hab.tations If mep. At
one time It Is the heir Of some vast estate,
and at another some unfortunate abandon
/ ed by its parents, vino found the wild
. beasts Of the forest kinder than it's unnat-
ural kindred. The story of Casper IIauser
- still fresh on our memories. and only
few wears ago will woman was discover
cd IN The south of France, who, for seven
cen years, had made her home IN the
woods, and who died shortly after her cap
; lure, resoiutely refusing all food to the
!ast. prrfrrring death to captivity. Still
more recently. III Illinois, wrctched girl
was discovered who had borne a terrible
Imprisonment Of over sixteen years, en-
during IN that time horrors which will
never be unfDded TIL the Judgment day.
Most OF these experiences have taken place
N the midst of communities Boosting the
L
am about to relate occurred in Mexico,
and exceeds in horror anything that has
ever Oeel related i'll history or fiction; and
as foul blot on the humanity Of an entire
nation am sorry to say il is true. As
intimated IN n former letter, the peninsula
of Lower California is a section compare
lively unknown. 1t is in measure cut of
and isolated from the outside world, and
though settled by the Spanrards for over
one hundred and fifty years, it enioyss
lower scale Of civilization to day than many
a town IN Africa and Australia which was
inhabited by cannibals twenty years ago.
The native Mexican lives mostly in the
past. The limit of his comprehension is
bounded by the geogra phical lines of his
own state, on the confines of VIII ich he in
scribes, as his ancestors did on the pillars
of Hercules. Ne Plus uiyd. 1t is difficult
problem to understand how a nation in
immediate contact with one of the most
energetic races in the world could have
continued in its present position without
the slightest evidence of advance for the
pas. hundred years. Everything looks old
and diugy; the style of the furniture, the
houses the dresses and the ordinary uten-
sis used in domestic life. In their back
yards among the broken pottery, are frag.
uents identical with those which the anti.
TIariau of our time finds among the ruins
of NlEeveh and TLeies. The water carrier
gets his water at the public fountain ard
Peddlcs it about in stone jars tied to tie
back of an ass, rs his ancestors did before
Moses led the children Of Israel out of the
house of bondage. The entire scale of
civilization is low-the bull ring aud the
cock pit furnishing almost the snly means
Of amusement to the people. All of the
lower classes go around with knives, and
bloody encounters Of the most desperate
character are by no means rare or uncom.
mon. One popularity of the Mexican char
act.r is the stolid indifference with which
a crowd of snen and women will see a cou-
Pile of comba;ants hack each other TO pieces;
FAR from expressing abhorrsnce they &C.
tually seem - enjoy it, and an outside
party attempting to interfere with their
pastrne would be likely to .ieopardizs his
life.
The principal business of ths lower por-
ton Of the peninsula for many years was
pearl fishing, and the people who followed it
for living were 4 wretched, ill-paid ill.,
fed class. whose life seemed desperate
Struggle TO keep body and soul together.
Their houses were generally to be found
within a few yards of the beach, and were
composed of odd bits of canvas, loose
boughs Of trees, pieces of board and reeds,
tho whole being covered with a roof of
palm leaves; and, when finished, excluded
neither the wind nor the rain. and wero
Infinitely below the lair Of a coyote or the
den of grizzly bear. Their wants are
few, and they delight in gaudy colors, the
possession Of a brilliantly dyed poncho be-
ing esteemed the height of earthly bliss.
The style OF living on the ranches is purely
pa,riarchal, the father of the family being
lord absolute of all he surveys No one
thinks of questioning his authority any
more than they would question the author
ity of the Grand Turk or the Autoc:at of
Russia And TO such an extent is this
authority carried that it is no uncommon
thing to see father administer corporal
punishment to his sons and daughters after
they are men and women grown and have
fam lilies of their own. About five miles
from the city of La Paz is the rancho of
Don Jose Maria Sandaval Mexican hidal.
go, who traces his lineage back to that
great Sandayal who stood beside Cortez on
the terrible rocte tris ste, and Glove his path
along the bloody causeway, through host
of attling foes, till he reached the oppo-
site shore. The rancho of Don Sandaval
is not far from the shore of the bay of La
Paz, and is a sort of oasis IN the desert.
There is no other habitation for miles.
Rude buildings are scattered about on every
hand, and TO the east of the main building
IS quaint little church, where Sienor San
daval offers daily and nightly prayer Ii
is only few years since he owned all tho
land for many miles about la Paz, and
was esteemed one of the richest men on
the Peninsula. 1t is fifty years ago since
Sisnor Sandaval was left in charge Of an
orphan ward, whom, report says, was tie
true owner of tho vast possessions which
he now enjoys; while many assert that she
was his sister, and Jointly owned with him
the estate, which covers the land for many
miles On arriving of age she married a
young man, aud it IS said that Sandayal
bitterly opposed the match. The fru of
the union was a handsome boy, the idol of
his father aud the darling OF his N other.
Shortly after the birth Of this toy the young
mother died. The father ais, died, and
the child was ct to the prot cti m of San.
daval. Remcmb'r, this was re ,rly thirty /
years 20. AS soor rs tie chill was able
to cras', Ut der ret .n,e that lie was an
id,at San avail Lac e hi., l., n mar, ,hauk-