St. Paul daily globe., 1893-01-18
"BRING ME MY BROTHERS
HEAD"
IA Story qy Joaquin Miller

a
capital.
The governor Of Durango, like most
Spanish MeXicans, was very proud, pas
sionate, ambitious and bloody. Now
this governor of Durango had very
| young and handsome brother, whom
| he had engaged in marriage to the only
| daughter of the governor of SonOro.
| She was not young. Neither was
| she very amiable or beautiful. But
| it suited the purpose of the ambl-
| tiouS brother to thus tie the two head
families of these two Mexican states to-
| gether. And as no one had ever dared
to doubt or question his authority or
will, he was insane with passion when
he found that at the end of the great
tesla and bull fight his brother had
| secretly married the beautiful Indian
girl. daughter Of Jahha, and fed with
her and her father back to the mount
aims of SonOro.
! Prescott, the historian, tells us that
| CorteZ, when he first invaded Mexico,
| found poStmen, or runners, who carried
| the mails on their backs and made the
incredible distance of 100 miles each
| day. There were no horses there at
| that time. There were no cattle of any
| kind. The largest domestic animal
| which Cortez found in the lands OF the
| Indian nations was the goat. These
| swift runners or postmen are still to be
| found in the mountains and deserts OF
| Mexico.
1t was by one of these that the dread
| full message was sent by the governor of
Durango in the wake of his flying broth
er and his bride. The great Indian chief
| and his two happy children had barely
| had time to throw themselves from their
| horses under the palm trees at their own
| village when the fatal message came
| from the furious governor.
An Indian OF Mexico will fight or re-
sist the American along our borders,
| bnt the terrible lessons they have had
| from those of Latin blood they never
can forget And so the great chief
| Jahha only bowed his head before the
messenger. The messenger turned
back. The silent old chief went aside
with his sorrow. The sun was going
down.
The weary young lovers had fallen
asleep even as the messenger ap-
preached, as they leaned together under
great palm tree in their serapes. And
the heartbroken old chief was as glad
as any hcartbroken man could be. They
at least would have little rest; one
little space of peace and hope and pure
delight in their sweet dreams together;
| only dreams.
He looked back over his shoulder as
| they leaned together there. The face
| of his beautiful child was settling down
! closer and closer to the breast of her
true young husband. And maybe at
that moment some little sense of the
great wrong and spirit of resistance
| rose in his stout heart for q second. His
| ! 4 l>, INi - hi
lips till they bled. Then his two hands
dfopped at his side as the branches OF a
tree might drop with the ak at its root,
and with deep sigh he passed on and
entered the palm thatched adobe house
of his elder sister, shrewd. Sedate old
woman who was sort Of Indian priest
ess. Slowly, sadly and very briefly he
told her the terrible truth.
And resistance arose in her breast for
a second as it had in his. But recalling
to herself the fact that the chief had
bowed his head at the mandate of the
blOodlhirSty governor, and in silence
consented to take the head of the hand
some young husband and deliver 1t in
person Oh the morrow, she was silent.
For, to say nothing of the peril OF dis
obedience. she knew tnat her brother
never broke his word.
of shitten wood on solemn occasions, the
same that is mentioned in the Bible. 1t
| is species of jumper tree. IL is hard
as steel when dry, and endures almost
forever is oily and rich, burns like
candle and gives out perfume not un-
like that before the altar when the CELL
ser swings in unison with most solemn
prayer. The Chinese burn this same
wood. ground up with olive oil and
made into tapers. in their temples
before their idols in San Francisco.
The old Indian priestess arose and
set up seven sticks in the form of a
tent, or wigwam, in the middle OF the
earthen floor. Then, taking up an
earthen lamp from hidden corner, she
set the perfumed pile OH fire, and fell
with her face on the ground before it.
The rich, sweet odors of the burning
sandalwood, or juniper, quite overcame
the exhausted old chief, and he. too,
sank down, and sleep came to him, and
he rested, and was greatly refreshed.
| So greatly refreshed was he, indeed,
that, when the full moon flooded in at
the open door, and his sister wakened
him with touch of her withered hand,
he resolved at once to set out on his re-
turn with the doomed head to the
bloody and relentless brother.
Il,
path of silver for me to walk upon. L
must set forth alone ana now with the
head. She must sleep, must not know"
But as he was about to step forth. the
old prlestess laid her hand on his arm
and gently drew him back. In silence
once more they kindled the fire and to-
gether they watched 1t burn; waiting,
waiting, praying for some sign, some
token, some light or pathway of deliv-
erance. Did 1t come to them? Could
Indian cunning conceive of no way to
match Mexican cruelty? Let us see.
Meantime, like Charles ", Cortez
and many another bloody Spaniard,
penitence had come to the cruel gov
ernor of Durango. His terrible rage
had quite spent its fury; and now the
tation and cry of despair. A messenger
was sen forth at sundown recalling and
revoking the cruel order for his
brothers head. Then another messen-
ger, and then another.
They were each ordered to take the
shorter, though more perllous route.
Numerous rewards, loads Of silver were
promised any one who would bring the
poor young brother safe and we'll to the
governors palace. The cruel penitent,
as if fearing that men might doubt his
sincerity, took all the boarded silver OF
his palace. heaped up in his great CEN
trail hall, to be given to any one
who would bring him back his
brother safe and we'll. He ordered his
guards to shoot down the chief at sight
when he came on the morrow bearing
the head of his poor young. brother:
Thep he fell OH his face, moaning and
mourning, and would not rise up, or
heed or hear anything. He resolved to
retire to a convent and spend his days
in repentance. Yes, he would govern
no more, for surely he was not fitted TO
govern.