Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-07-20
THE WHITE DEVIL.
A Mexican Superstition and It's
Interesting Origin

blcd around the curve just outside of
the city of San Jose, white horse
sprang on the track and raced down to-
war the town in front of the engine.
For a mile the train did not gain on
him, then tho unequal footing of the
cross ties and the pace began to tell
on the white stced, and the engine
crept slowly up to him. The engineer
gave a few shriel1s of the whistle to
scare the horse from the track, but he
kept right on in front, running with
the speed of a racer, with his long tail
streaming in straight line behind
him.
The engineer saw stock gap in
front half mile away, and again
pulled the whistle. The horse simply
let out few links and went on The
engineer got mad. He pulled the
throttle open and went after the white
phantom, at a thirty-miles- an-hour clip.
lie was IL bare hundred feet behind the
horse when the animal reached the
stock gap and plunged in among the
open ties and fell The pilot struck
hirn, ground the life out of him in an
instant and then plowed into the dirt
on the opposite side of the track. The
engineer swore few choice oaths and
inmped out of the cab. The horse was
as dead as door nail and the engine
had left the rails.
Another suit for the company"
said the conductor as he came up.
GLOW did you do it, Jim?"
''Oh, don't know" answered Jim in
a surly way. The brute got on the
track and just stayed there till struck
him. He was possessed of the devil, l
guess"
They had to send to San Jose for the
wreclxing engine to put the train back
on the rail, and while they were wait
ing Mexican rode along the road be-
side the track. He pulled up his bron-
cho to see the wreck.
"Caramba, senor," he exclaimed,
turning pale and trembling, '"it es
Vasqucz' horse" And he mounted his
pony as quickly as possible and sped
off down the road.
''Who the deuce is Vasqucz?" asked
Jim. From the way that Gresser got
n push on himself you'd think we'd
killed u ghost"
IF that's Vasquez' horse as the
Crcaser said, you have killed u Mexi-
can ghost" said the conductor, and he
WtLllNtu ONcE anu AONhCN dG OAlS NASoNa GAL
imal lying under the front wheels of
the engine.
1t was Vasuucz' horse. The whole
country knew it the next day. lie was
twenty years old and totally blind
when he met his death in front of the
freight train, and for ten years had
roamed over the unoccupied land about
the lower part of Santa Clara county
free as u bird and feared by the Next
cans more than lion. lie was called
by them the white DEVIL" and 1t was
their belief that he was possessed of a
soul mortgaged to the evil one-the soul
of Vasquez. 1t is a strange tale that
the old Mexican mothers tell of this
white horse.
| Vusquez was the most noted bandit
of the early days of California He
babe defiance to the law, eluded the de-
tectivcs and searching parties for years
and killed and robbed half hundred
men. He roamcd over the state of Cal
ifornia from the north to the south,
leaving desolation and death in his
wake. He surrounded himself with 6
band of desperate Mcxicans and ter
rorized entire communi ties. Lone trav
elers by day and by night were stopped
on the road and relieved of their casl
and often of their lives. A quiet vii
lage in the San Joaquin valley would
be awakened at the dead of night by
the rush of sounding hoofbeats
Timid men would pull the covers abou
their heads and SILVER. Next day the
principal store in the place would b,
found open, the safe robbed, valuable
goods taken, and the guardian, if it hat
any, dead with bullet in his head or
knife wound in his heart. Vasquez haC
been there.
One day the stage was rafting dow
the road from one of the mountain
mines. The Wells-Fargo box wa
heavy with bullion and half dozel
armed guards sat in the coach. TIL
driver sat on the box with a Wincheste
between his knees and chatted wit
another guard who sat beside him bal
ancing a shotgun across his lap. The.
were talking of Vasquez. 'They sa,
he alters rides white horse an
dresses like dandy" said the driver
"Wish't he'd jump Their gun-site stag
onct when the boys Is aboard"
Two horsemen dressed in the tinsele
Mexican cavalier costume rounded
turn in the road just in front of tn
stage and came riding toward it. On
of them bestrode white horse. The
cantered up. The man on the whit
horse went to the right and his CON
panion to the left of the stage. Sue
denly they refined up.
Pardon, senior, will the senior Civ
me light for me cigarette?"
The driver good-naturedly pulled u
and leaned over from hisAseat with tn
a big cigar which he was smoking e1
tended between his fingers. He wa