Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-03
HAPPY HAPHAZARD.
Here's Hoping the Lord May Take a
Liking to YOU"
A Peculiar TOas: that Figures in Tale of Mex
leo, Texas and Florida.
For the Gazette.


Some seventeen or eighteen years ago
there came into existence lively boom
on what was known as the San Rafael
silver mines, in Mexico. The boom
worked its way as far East as Alabama,
where stock of the concern was put upon
the market, and considerable amount
taken by the citizens at several points in
the state A few months later there got
abroad the whisper that San Rafael was
''wildcat, - and with a view 10 ascer-
tanning the facts in the case, arrange
ments were made by the Alabama stock
holders to send into Mexico and to the
San Rafael mines a special commission of
investigation The trust was imposed
upon this writer, and with three COM
panions he promptly set out on his
mission.
Railroads were few in Texas in those
days, aud there were none at all in that
section of Mexico to which our business
led us, consequently we were under the
necessity of performing large proper
ton of our journey on horseback. But
we got through all right, and back,
without any incident of Importance, to
within about three miles of the west
bank of the Rio Grande. Here an Incl
deut occurred that was an incident sure
enough. We were in camp for the night.
All went well with US, as usual, until
about break of day IN the morning, when
we found ourselves suddenly surrounded
by ten or twelve heavily armed Mexican
roughs, who took our revolvers away
from US and gave US to understand that
We were prisoners. They couldn 'tspeak
much English and we couldn't under
stand any Mexican, but enough passed
to let US know that we were charged
with being horse-thleves over from Texas
for the purpose of stealing Mexican
horses. All our protestations to the
contrary, and all our efforts at explain
ing who we were, and why we were on
Mexican soil, amounted to just nothing
at all in our favor. The Mexicans were
highly angered; we could see that easily
enough, and their actions went far to-
wards impressing us with the opinion
that they were fully resolved on some
thing that had in it no kind of good for
their caDtives.
Our captors did not move us imme-
diately but kept us closely guarded
where they had found US, carrying on
the while some kind of animated dis
cussion, until near sunrise, when q
small, swarthy- looking man appeared
upon the scene, galloping up along the
road from the west. Appearing to take
in the situation of affairs at glance, he
refined up his pony and joined in the con-
versation. The others appeared to know
him well and to treat him with no small
degree of respect. Presently, after
their evident explanation of the matter,
he leaped to the ground, and walking
over to US, began shaking our hands ali
round and calling us famiIiarly by names
we had never before sailed under, asking
us in first class English how we had left
the folks at home, with many other
questions closely put in, that we knew
nothing whatever about. 1t was plain
that he was an American, and it was
further PLAIN to US that we had never
met him before, and that, if he thought
we had, he was simply mistaken in his
men, But with one accord we seemed
to regard it the wiser course not to be-
tray any surprise with reference to his
conduct.
While all this was going on one of the
Mexicans quietly returned our revolvers
Our strange friend then drew from his
side pocket pint flask, which he passed
for it to go round. When it came back
to him he tipped it with, ''Here IS hoping
the Lord may take q liking to you -
The next moment found him in bis sad
die sweeping back the way he had come,
with all the Mexioans accompanying him.
We were free, and the reader may rest
assured that we didn It hesitate to make
such good use of our freedom as soon
placed the Rio Grande between us and
the country of the Next cans. OF course
we speculated, as we fastened along, on
the cause that had brought about such
an expected change in the tide of affairs,
but no speculation enabled us to unite on
anything that savored of being reason
able hypothesis. The only thing in the
case upon which we could come together
as unit was the toast. 1t was new TO
each of us, and by unanimous vote we
passed upon it as the most remarkable
toast we had ever heard.
In the spring of 1880, before the Inter-
national and Great Northern had laid its
rails south of Austin, 1 was travelling
from that city to San Marcos by the Aus
ztin and San Antonio mail stage. The
~ Gather was wet, making the roads ex-
tremely bad. Every long lane We struck
gave us deal of trouble; in word, it
was next door to impossible. The coach
was loaded with passengers, and the
driver was certainly having q most Sc
rious time of it. At about every fifty
yards in those muddy lanes he was forced
to come down from his box, and with an
old-fashioned long-handled iron fire
5ekovel punch the accumulated waxy mud
from between the spokes of the wheels,
they having taken upon themselves the
appearance. of great rolling balls of mud.
1t was easy to see that he was rapidly be-
coming entirely tagged out. He looked
really sick. Every time he climbed back
into his box, after ten minutes punch
at the mud, the performance was evil
IDENTIFY one of increased difficulty The
prospect of an eventual haul up at some
very undesirable point on the road ap-
speared decidedly good, for there is
limit to all human endurance, even as
developed in a Texas stsge-driTer.
Finally thought of something in my
possession little of which. it occurred
to me, might be OF benefit to our over
worked driver in his present emergency.
There was in my grip halt-pint flask Of
good whisky. 1t was against the rules
of the service for stage driver to drink
liquors while on duty, still there could be
no harm in just little on such an occa-
sion as this. 1t might be the means of
/ eating ms ouf of fhe ruud Co Aiming