The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-10-02
SAVED BY A BELT OF GOLD.
The Luck OF an Engiishman When At
tackled by Robbers In Tehuantepec.

! Gold has n variety OF uses, said Nr
Thornton Decker, an English engineer
to an American who met him in Tlacslula,
but 1 fancy my experience when / first
went over this route between Oaxaca and
Tehuantepsc was rather novel \ lot OF
SEQ pieces served very well rs a coat OF
mail-so well that they saved my life
AS l said, was bound down to Te-
huantepec for lock at the railroad across
the isrhmus- l had heard that the women
there use your American double eagles for
jewelry and paid a very high premium for
them, 80 l got 10 or so and sswed them
into the form OF what you might call n
porous plaster. When / had them stitched
into place on a bit of cotton, there were
two rows across rny back and a third row
overlapping the other two. BY putting
straps over my shoulders they carried very
comfortably.
II got the gold up at e Paso, Tex, but
In some way one of the beggarly crew at
the hotel in Oaxaca saw that I was carry
ing something in the small of my hack,
and the result OF that WAS / was followed
when l set out for Tehuantepec They al
lowed me Co go on unmolested until was
within a day OF San Carlos, and then one
OF them seems 70 have taken a short cut
through the mountains and concealed him
self in the brush until passed Then he
gave il 10 me with shotgun, loaded with
siugs Of lead, and / caught il in tire small
of the back
The force OF the blow knocked me
down over the pommel of the saddle
When there, had presence of mind enough
to keep on falling slowly, as II entirely
done for Meantime L 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 20 stop and my
guide TO go on, and both obeye.i promptly.
! was stiu clinging 10 my horses neck and
could see them through its name very
we'll. l let them get within 10 feet OF me
and then dropped 10 my feet on tine ground
and took my turn at shooting. They were
50 close couldn't miss, but luckily, as
think, one caught his bullet In the knee
and the other in the fieshy part OF the arm,
while their horse was killed outright by
bullet in the head.
Seeing them both down and begging
for their lives / had q mind 10 kill them
for their cowardice, but L let them OF
with good kicking apiece and then
called back the guido and had him carry
water and wash and dress the wounds a.
well as possible. Then L gave the man
with the hurt arm a stiff horn OF brandy
and sent him back for help, while l con-
tinued my journey. The slugs had hit the
gold pieces-three of them. had laIne
back fDr a week or so, but / was othsr-
wise unhurt. What became OF themy
afterward met the one that caught &c in (
the knee. He was going about the market
in Oaxaca on a peg leg, peddling rebosos /
and telling people he had lost his leg in
fierce encounter with highwaymen. he
saSd his partner was on a journey but .
fancy that meant he had been detected In 4
some rascality and sent 10 prison. New /
York Sun