The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-09-02
4 MEXICAN LOVER.

~ "as hern Lies with rugged summlts
, rsu. aronnd ma. and the thread OF ciea.
.ns4as ;ss,,;no hom the rocky basin ~ ou.
go and mafinp for itself q ribbon o. sIe..
down the bare and sterile Arizona mn .";ma
tain side. that / listened to the Iolo w;+b
story told by my guide in conhec'i'"
the Shutdown Spring: ,o.d.
"It was in the early days OF the ~ his
and lumber and mining excitement Rev
section, and San Pablo was still u n'i ror.
snh-nost. the troops occupying lor 90.
racks n mart of the old Mexican town anI
the chaplain holding service III whaI nv
haan a Roman Catholic mission churcn,
and ringing to call to Protestant preach',s
the same bell that the old Spanish MONKS
had used to call their Mexican and lho'a"
converts to mass.
SAT the time OF which am telling. zap
tain REYNOLDS was the commander OF Cne
post. and with him was his vile ana dIusn.
ter Annie. And Annie Reynolds was Just ~
picture. She WAS, maybe, 10, with mar
a crinkly yellow that was always o:l i =
and shimmering as though 1t was Iuaa ~
sunshine; her eyes were blue and ihhoceno
as a baby's, and her cheeks used to make
me think OF the peaches that grow IN our
old Connecticut garden, they were so sou
and pink. But her ways were more IMAM
her looks, She had a smile and pleasant
word for everybody, and one ofthe klndest,
most pitiful hearts you ever saw, ana l
guess there wasn't u single one OF the sol
diers, or any other a Tor that ma1ter'
that knew her who wouldn't have gone
through fire and water any day TO nave
"All the ladies OF the garrison were ono
of horseback riding, and one gay as Aunie
and two or three more were riding through
the town.. her horse frightened at something
and began to rear. breaking at the same
time the saddle girth. Hall a dozen OF us
who saw the accident sprang forward, but
before we could reach her a young Mexican,
Juan Manuelito, had caught her in his
arms. l had seen the fellow time and again
Ioafing about San Pablo, just one OF those
ordinary, shiftless, good-for-nothlng Mexl-
cans, about as poor timber OF humanity
according to my ideas as you can find any
where. And / didn't suppose that any
thing short OF Gabriel's trumpet would
arouse him any. But / wish you could
have seen his face as he set Annie down..
He looked at her as I have sometimes seen
them look at pictures OF the Virgin, as
though she was almost more than mortal.
And when she blushed and smiled and
thanked HIM in her sweet, pretty way, his
lace fairly seemed to shine.
"By this time a group had gathered around
her. Juan was pushed one side, and l never
should have thought OF the affair again,
but that afternoon, as | was going down to
Captain Reynolds headquarters on an
errand, l met Juan Manuelito coming out.
Yes said the captain, with a laugh when
I spoke OF his caller. AN l don't believe
you could ever guess his business And
then he told me that Juan had come with
all the Mexican formality and asked the
hand of Annie in marriage. And did you
kick him out as he deserved? asked. But
the CAPTAIN, who was an easy-gOlng man,
said no, he told him that he could not lilo
his daughter to marry IA poor man. And
when Juan had asked how much he must
have first, had answered, 100000 L
thought said Reynolds, that would an
swer as we'll as though | said a million, so
he thanked me and went away, and prOba-
ably that will be the last OF him.
~ thought so, too, but, il you will believe
me, the fellow took Captain Reynolds at his
word, and Immediately set to work to Sc
cure the amount needed. In that part OF
Arizona water is literally as precious as
gold. You nave seen how it Il is hauled in
barrels for milus and sold like any other
commodity, and men go out prospecting
for springs just as miners search for crop
pings of ore. Well, the very next morning
Januelto had loaded a mule with provisions
| and started Quito search for water, and he
didn't give it up at the end of IL week, as
! you may suppose and as ! did, but stuck to
it with Il dogged perseverance l wouldn't
lave believed possible. week after week and
| month after month, in all seasons and
| weatbers.
81 had seen plenty OF men what is called
| in love- At one time OF my life | thought
| knew something what it was myself, as
| presume you have, but never before, nor
| do ! ever expect to again, see love like that
of Juan. Why that Mexican that l had
thought almost too lazy to live, worked
like a beaver from daylight to dark, lived
like a miser on the coarsest food and de-
MED himself almost the necessities OF life.
Usually, once a week, on Sunday, he would
come to town, go to mass, walk down
past the captains for perhaps a glimpse Of
Annie, and then contented start back to
his toll again.
"Yes, he was successful. Eve often
wondered If it was luck or his desperate set
! purpose, but he seemed to be a genuine
water witch, and ii there was Il stream oil
water as big as your finger among the hills
he would find it. At first he used to bring
it to San Pablo or the nearest camp and
sell it himself, but that was too slow, and
so he would sell the springs, usually for
some mining or mill purpose. He found
| the springs from which the water is pumped
through to the Pine Fork mills seven miles
away.
But the strangest OF it all was that An.
ME Reynolds was wholly ignorant OF Juan
ManuelitO's labOrs in her behalf. Her
father had never told her OF his proposal,
and if she saw him as he walked by the
1 @rr~o L. ~,,- ro-%1sa- II T. --1 RI.
he began to make formal calls on the Cap
tain to inform him that he had gained one,
and two, and three Thousand dollars OF the
stipulated sum, he was more than ever anx-
ious that Annie should hear nothing OF the
matter; for though he confessed to me (who
| guess was the only one besides he trou-
bled him greatly, still he did not believe
that Juan would reach the ten thousand,
and in the meantime he might be ordered
away, or Juan might die or find a new OBJ
ject OF affection, or any number Of things
might occur. For Annie would neverunder
any circumstances have married Juan Man
~uelito, never. Why, she was a lady, ac-
complished, and delicate as one of my
mothers blush roses, with all the pretty
dainty ways that ladies have. And l used
often to think, as l saw her SO bright and
gay, and utterly unconscious of any cloud
oA~o AAA6Ao w 0AA w Alcbl liz HdDpllcSS,
OF the fate that had SO strangely linked her
life with that OF Juan, who was not only
coarse and ignorant, out utterly devoid OF
the good looks which some Mexicans DOS
sess; a great swarthy fellow with only one
idea in the. world, to accumulate money
enough to win the object OF his passion, and
with "a heart as hard as iron for anything
that stood in his way.
"This was most clearly shown while he
was prospecting for the springs for the
Pine Fork MILL Tim Cooley and Johanna,
his wife, a poor Irish couple who had in
some way drifted to this corner of the
world, had made them a little home up in
the foothills by the side of a little stream.
Not much Of II stream it would have been
called in a country that had creeks and
rivers in plenty, but it was every drop OF
water they had, and for two or three wears
they had worked to lead it in irrigating
bitches into their little garden and field.
But the spring was quite a bit above them.
and old Jim had never thought OF LAYING
claim to it or dreamed that the water
course would ever be disturbed. The first
they knew, however, Juan Manuelito was
at work turning it into his pipes. People
have not depended much on law in Arizona.
80 the old man did not think to appeal to-
the courts, as he would in an older comn,u-