The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-05-11
JUAN AND ISABEL.

In the rocky but pleasant little valley
Of the Rio Florido, in the state of Chi
huahua, not far from the station of Cor
ralitos on the Mexican Central railway
there may be seen the ruins of what
so years ago was the magnifcen,
manor house or hacienda of a large
rancho. There, too, were raised the
strong, black bulls for the arenas of Chi
huahua and the lower provinces Cd
Mexico. The gateway to this once ia.
nous place, although dilapidated and
thrown down, has not yet crumbled
into dust, but still shows the marks Of
its former splendor. On the left side Of
the entrance, about 300 feet Distant from
the broad road which led to the stately
mansion, side by side, are two wooden
crosses roughly fashioned out Of oak
logs, On both Of which with a r NAV
still be traced q rudely carved inscrip.
ton. The words are in that crude
Mexico astilian language common to
the country. That on the right as you
face the line of what was once the fence
surrounding the grounds of the haci-
enda invites the passerby to offer:
Zone " maria and a pater noster for
the repose of the soul Of Ysabel Mora,
who fell by the hands of the Indians ON
the 18th day Of October in the year 1915,
in the flower Of her youth and beauty"
On the other:
Here lies Juan Maria Orteza, native
Of, killed by the Indians on the nth
of October, 1s45. Christian, for the sake
of God, pray for him"
The story of the young girl and young
man who lie under these rudely hewn
crosses is a sad one and absolutely true.
The rancho de Cadena is about half way
between the cities of Durango and Chi
huahua. 1t fourished 80 years ago under
the careful management of it's owner, an
aged Mexican known all over the region
as "El Coxo" (the game legl. He was a
widower, with a family of eight sons,
each of whom was an expert in the ex-
citing games Of the country-''CoIea de
toros," or the more cruel and barbarous
pastime of sEl gallo"
''Colea de toros" in plain English is
bull tailing-that is, seizing the bull in
the ring by the tail and securing it un-
der the right leg. The rider then, by
wheeling his horse suddenly outward,
upsets the bull in the midst of his mad
career, the huge animal rolling over and
over in the dust, believing with pain
and fright. "El gallo" much more brn.
tai, consists of fastening q rooster by
the leg tot tree or to a picket driven into
the ground, with its head and neck well
creased The game is played on horse
back, all, starting together, strive to
reach the bird first, and seizing it by the
neck try to break the strings that hold
it and ride Off with the prize. The wen
CREASED neck generally slips through the
fingers OF the first who grasps II, but as
soon as n finds himself in possession
he rides off pursued by the rest, whose
object is to rescue the fowl. OF course
in the exciting contest which ensues the
bird is torn to pieces. Then the fortu-
nate possessor of the bleeding morsels
presents them to his lady love as q gage
d'amour.
The eight sons of "E Coxo' were con-
coded to be the bravest, the handsomest
and the best in handling the lasso Of any
young men in the state Of chihuahua.
Their experience from boyhood as va
queros or herdsmen on their fathers vast
pastures had made them as used to sit
ting On a horse as in a chair. and the
character of the fierce bulls which were
raised on the ranch expressly for the are
mas of the City of Mexico inspired them
with the brave nature of the famous ami
mails themselves.
Residing with the family was a young
girl, a ward of ''El Coxo,' an orphan
and the daughter of a friend and class,
mate at school. ISABEL Mora was in.
1e45 but is years old-a very pretty,
black eyed, black haired girl, the 'stoast'
OF both the valley of Rio Florido and oil
the valley of Nazos. Her extreme love-
illness even had been the talk of the great
fair held in San Bartolomo.
Escamilla, the third son of "El Coxo."
was just 20, stood 5 feet 10 in his shoes.
was as straight as an arrow and as 1.-the
some as the reeds that grew on the mar
gin of the lagoons on the ranch. He was
better educated than the rest of his broth
ers, both In a practical sense and i'm the
nsages of the best society the republic
afforded, as he had attended two or three
terms at school in the City of Mexico,
the great capital Of the great nation to
which he belonged, and which he be-
heyed to be the best on earth. In his
first bull fight after his return from the
metropolis, he made his appearance in
the arena in q most elaborate suit, fash
Toned from the reigning style al the cap
ital, creating a surprise among his own
sex that bordered upon jealousy and a
Juror among those of the>opposite. He
distinguished himself further by throw
ingAthree bulls successfully.
Escamilla's rival in good looks and ex-
pertness in the bull ring was his brother
Juan Marian fact, there were many
Of the people Of the Rio Florido, both old
vaqneros and young maidens, who
thought Juan far surpassed EscamiIla in
manliness at least If not in personal
beauty. He certainly equaled him II
hOrsemanship, simply lacking perhaps
unxno NJ that slhrilliannv ~ a~An-E~.a