Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-05-14

M. nSiS vi Iltal ancient Aztec city,
WI. iaimer was introduced to His Mai
estsy' whom he found half drunk and
quite talkative. He describes him as a
'llttle wizen-faced cd man of narhans
seventy, with checks sunburnel brown
D y exposure to southern suns, but with
Keen blue eyes, and very short Stature.
not more than five feet three inches in
height" The minister concludes his
description by saying he was civ no
means a fool SO many Others have
met him and given accounts of Ills
country that there is abundant testi-
mony rs to the existence of an Emniro
in our midst.
de is described by all as a man of
marked intelligence and speaks the En-
glish language and is doubtless an En-
glishman. AT times he is very frank.
but always protane. IIc will not 90
back in his history further than the
purchase of the old Spanish grant,
this oasis of 10000 acres. The pop
ulation, which is about twelve
or fifteen hundred, were originally half
breed Mexicans, and Indian poems who
know not that they are free from bond
age, and never will if he can prevent it.
he says they know nothing of the right
ful President and ruler of the land. He
has confessed that they pay him tribute
and live in perfect obedience to his will.
He says his rule is a blessing to them
and they would die for him.
Rev. Mr.. Palmer asked the Emperor
if his subjects did not sometimes meet
with human beings somewhere on the
desert and learn the fact that they were
really slaves no longer. He answered.:
'Wcll, yes, it is getting so now that
once in Il while Il young buck does get it
into his head"
SIS there not danger that he will SOW
dissension in your realm. Gle insisted
on being addressed in language that ac-
knowledged his p~retentions, like the
above.)
"Not much;' he answered., 'because
[ erile him."
''My knowledge of the old Mexican
law of peon slavery being very limitcd,'
Rev. MIR. Palmer continues, II asked
him to explain it, which he did, about
as follows:
'Well, you understand, peon slavery
was a sort of servitude in which the
creditor held tho debtor. For instance,
if A sold B II bag of flour, b was AS
peon until he had paid for it, he had
cancelled his debt, but the slavery gen
orally became perpetual, for the reason
that the creditor paid the debtor such
poor wages that before his debt
was paid he was compelled to buy
o flour, and in Il little while the
debt became so great that BIS slavery
was practically lifelong"
Many strange stories have been told
of the Kingof the desert and his domain,
which has been variously described.
Some report 1t as an colorado; that there
are the purcst crystal waters, the green
est hills and plains, the richest soil and
densest forests. That gold and silver
mines abound there, and all is wealth.
ease and luxury; that the royal palace of
Emperor Henry is inlaid with gold, that
his throne is of solid gold, and that he
has Il trained retinue of servants or
court train, all costly attircd; that he
has a standing army about the palace of
of several hundred men, and that it is a
domain one would be willing to enter,
never to leave again. 1t is reported Us
so healthy that old become young, and
death is seldom known. All this fairy
story stuff is, of course r~idiculously alb
surd. but it is the natural outgrowth of
mans active imagination. The tcnden-
CIV to exaggerate is strong in the Amcri-
can mind, and it so much mor pleasant
m%on-place theory, that people some
times grow over crcdulous. The plain,
practical mind at once rejects the idea
as ridiculous and untrue.
A more practical and perhaps correct
version Of affairs at Chilli, and Il more
complete description of customs and
of the people, is given 'by two
prospectors, George S. Smith and
William Aiken. They set out early
in the year 1882, according to their
W statement to explore some mining
lands lying between New Mexico and
Arizona. They had two hardy mus
tangs and four pack mules. The miners
and travellers invariably avoid the dcs-
ert when they can. Our two friends
would not have approached it had it
been possible to have kept away, but on
the third day of their journey they were
chased by a party of Indians, supposed
10 be hostile Apaches, whose real OBJ
JCCu. NlOllDUlCSS, Ntto w y ehCiA
They were forced to go : out upon the
great sandy plains. The white sand
dunes rose up on all sides, the mules
Jagged behind, and the Indians pressed
up so close upon them that they were
forced to. abandon the mules, retaining
only saddle-horses. They travelled all
day and the first half Of the night. 1t
was not until both man and beast were
almost completely exhausted that they
halted in the desert and lay down. A
strong breeze blew all the latter part Of
the night, and at times the sand swept
over them like pelting rain. When
morning came there was no sign OF their
pursucrs. and to their horror they soon
found they had lost their way. The
tracks made the day before by their
horses had been obliterated, the wind
filing them up with sand. The sun rose
and tho heat soon grew intense. The
travellers wore blue goggles, or they
would surely have been blinded by the
fierce RAYS of the sun beating upon the
white sand. The sutferings OF these
men were beyond description. They had
two contoonS of Watcr with thGm. anu,