The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1894-11-21
SAVED BY A BELT OF GOLD.
The Luck of an Englishman When At
tackled by Robbers in Tehuantepec.

"Gold has variety of uses, said Mr..
Thornton Decker, an English engineer,
to an American who met him in Tlaca-
lula, "but fancy my experience when
/ first went over this route between
Oaxaca and Tehuantepec was rather
novel. A lot of 500 pieces served very
well as coat of mail-so well that they
saved my life.
"As 1 said, I was bound down to
Tehuantepec for look at the railroad
across the isthmus. l had heard that
the women there use your American
double eagles for jewelry and paid a
very high premium for them, so got
forty or fifty and sewed them into the
form of what you might call porous
plaster. When had them stitched in
to place on a bit of cotton, there were
two rows across my back and third
row overlapping the other two. By
putting straps over my shoulders they
carried very comfortably.
Il got the gold up at Ell Paso, Tex,
but in some way one of the beggarly
crew at the hotel in Oaxaca saw that
was carrying something in the small of
my back, and the result of that was !
was followed when set out for Tehuan-
tepec. They allowed me to go on un-
molested until was within day of
San Carlos, and then one of them seems
to have taken a short cut through the
mountains and concealed himself in the
brush until l passed. Then he gave it
to me with shotgun loaded with slugs
of lead, and caught it in the small OF
the back.
"The force of the blow knocked me
down over the pommel of the saddle.
When there l had presence of mind
enough to keep on falling slowly, as if
entirely done for. Meantime 1 got one
of your American navy revolvers in my
hand and cooked it.
'The beggar that had shot me, seeing
me fall, came running from the brush,
machete IN one hand and gun in the
other, while his partner appeared around
the mountain, with his horse on the
gallop. They yelled at my horse to
stop and my guide to go on. and both
obeyed promptly. was still clinging
to my horses neck and could see them
through its name very well. 1 let them
get within ten feet of me and then
dropped to my feet on the ground and
took my turn at shooting. They were
so close l couldn't miss. but luckily, as
1 think, one caught his bullet in the
knee and the other in the f1eshy part OF
the arm, while their horse was killed
outright by a bullet in the head.
Seeing them both down and begging
for their lives 1 had mind to kill them
for their cowardice, but l let them of
with good kicking apiece, and then
called back t. guide and had him carry
water and wash and dress the wounds
as we'll as possible. Then l gave the
man with the hurt arm stiff horn OF
brandy, and sent him back for help,
while 1 continued my journey. The
slugs had hit the gold pieces-three OF
them. 1 had lame back for a week
or so, but 1 was otherwise unhurt.
What became of themP I afterward
met the one that caught it in the knee.
He was going about the market in OAK
aca on peg leg peddling reboses. and
telling people he had lost his leg in a
fierce encounter with highwaymen. He
said his partner was on journey, but !
fancy that meant he had been detected
in some rascality and sent to prison"