The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-01-05
HE BEAT THE SMUGGLER.
But Don Mauricio Slew His Only
Daughter In Doing 1t.
An Interesting and Thrilling Tale OF the
southwestern Frontier-An Episode Of,
a summer Day Down In the Mes
quite Country.

Billings was sitting delicately poised
on chair that had passed through
its transitory cane bottom stage and
had entered upon the enduring era OF
rawhide His heels, somewhat above
the elevation of his head, rested
against the mesquite corner post of the
veranda, as we euphemistically called
the brush shade in front Of the ranch
house. Saddles, blankets and other
equine paraphernalia hung upon pegs
driven into companion posts, and Edge
worth and were repairing some OF
our horse furniture preparatory to
riding out. within the kid" was
doing what he called sweeping out;
not as q woman sweeps, but with ire
mendous strokes. OF his implement
that drove the more solid aggregations
of dirt before it, as shots from cata-
putt, while the smaller particles of
dust rose about him like dense swarm
of gnats, angry at being disturbed,
and settled back again as the sweeper
shifted his position. Edgeworth was
an Englishman, and the kid, Hins-
ley, by name, was some relative of his,
who had recently come out from the
old country to try ranch.ng In south
west Texas, and differed not from
>.hcr youths of his ilk in verdancy
80 general uselessness. He had. or
~ e 4 at the time Of his coming.
mao 90 feas regarding the dragons
'ne ususl - dire which he would be
anu S"ie ucounter in the remote
caied upon 70 vdgeworth, not to
occiuen' anu sns. benevolently
thwart his aspirati. >>ake beds and
allowed him to cook, L 80, - ths 70.
sweep out as an initial.
mantle life of the frontier. :. .hos.
We made It . point to a. swine
things that ought to be done e od
the cool of the morning. and folio
the Mexican habit of sleeping, or pr.
tending to do so, during the heat OF
the day; all save Billings, who had an
unholy doctrine that since part OF
the day was to be devoted to loahng,
the loafing should be done at time
when YOU could enjoy 1t, which you
certainly could not do, he arguedi
while the perspiration rolled off you
rs you lay on your blanhet and the
flies, legion of devils from the pit,
pestered, you into a state of homieidal
ferocity.
He carried out this doctrine-much,
we secretly held, to his own discom-
fort--by being exasperatingly INDUS
trious during the hours of the siesta,
and correspondingly incident while
the rest of us were at work, though it
is not to be Inferred that any of us al
lowed the primeval curse to press very
heavily upon US. 79.a
So. in the morning of which / write,
Billings was doing nothing, and doing
1t in a manner to reflect credit on one
Of Mr.. Gilbert's lords. He seemed to
absorbing the weird beauty of the
wide view that lay before us in the
fine, dry air. Near at hand level.
pinlrish-gray stretch, dotted with
clumps of mesquite; half mile away,
beginning to simmer in the increas-
ing heat, little knob of hill, the Som
bretillo, at the base of which the Rio
Bravo del Norte, pouring from the
west. turned sharply with turnul tuous
rapids to the south; beyond, the roll
ing hills of the state Of Tamaulipas,
covered with chaparra prieta, and be-
ginning to grow purple in the dis
lance: and beyond-nothing but the
clear, pale blue of the sky dome, where
1t rested upon the earth. unbroken,
save where, some sixty miles to, the
J southwest, huge mass of deeper tint
thrust sharply into it, marked the
mountains OF Lampasas. art''s
Edgeworth and myself purposed rid
ing to the south five or six miles
where our fence came down to- the
river, to straighten loose corner post
reported by yaquero the day before
and tighten the wires. We had no
yet completed our preparations whel
Billings' observant eye remarked some
body riding from the northwest along
the road which curved round the bas
of the Sombretiilo on the side ava,
from the river. Whoever it might be
he was riding at rapid gait, az tn
horses hoofs were raising q cloud O
dust that hung in : long trail in tn
breathless air along the winding road
As it was probably some Mexican COW
boy, Edgeworth and paid no furths
attention to the approaching fgur
beyond the first glance. Billings, hay
irg nothing more pressing to engag
Ibis attention, kept idly watching tn
horseman as he drew nearer, whe
presently he remarked:
at looks as If there were two o
TINT horse"
Now, there was nothing unusual
this. The robust conscience of III
Mexican permits him to ride doubl'
not infrequently triple, upon bea'
to which the burden of its own exis
encc would appear to be sufficiel
load, <fMs II
''Ohe OF 'em a woman, by Jovew col
tinued Billings, after an interval I
observation.
This was interesting. Not but VIII
we might any day see Mexican wit