The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-02-28
SAVED 81 A EELT OF GOLD.
E4ucl Of en- Ens1ish:aan Attacked by
Robbers n fehEautepec.

hucl Of en- Ensish:nan Attacked by
Robbers n fehrantepec.
"Gold has a variety OF uses," said
Thornton Decker, an English engineer,
TO an American who met him in Tica-
Illa, "Dut I fancy my experience when
I first went over this route between
Daxaca and TehuanteDec was rather
novel. A lot Of $40 pieces served very
we'll IS g. coat Of nail-so we'll that
hey saved my life.
"As I said, I was bound down to
Tehuantepec for look at tile railroad
across the isthmus. I had heard that
women there use your double eagles
for Jewelry and paid very high prem
Ium for them, so got forty or fifty and
sewed them into the form Of what yol
might cell a porous plaster. When I
had them stitched into place on bit
of cotton there were two rows across
my back and a third row overlapping
the other two. BY putting straps over
my shoulders they carried very com
'ortably.
81 got the gold up at Ell Paso, Texas.
out In some way one Of the beggarly
crew al the hotel at Oaxaca saw that l
was carrying something in the small Of
my back, and the result Of that was
that I was followed when set out for
Tehuantepec. They allowed ME to go
On unmolested 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 I passed. Then he
gave it to me with a shotgun loaded
with slugs Of lead, and I caught it in
The small Of the back.
"The force Of the blow knocked me
iown over the pommel Of the saddle.
When there I had presence Of mind
enough to keep on falling slowly as If
entirely done for. Meantime I got one
Of your American revolvers in my hand
md 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 10
stop and my guide to 60 on, and both
obeyed promptly. I was still clinging
to my horses neck and could see them
through its name very well. I 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 couldn't miss, but luckily, as
| think, one caught his bullet in the
knee and the other in the 1ieshy part OF
the arm, while their horse was killed
outright by bullet In the head.
Seeing them both down and begging
.or their lives lad mind to kill them
for their cowardice, bat I let rnem on
with a good kicking apiece, and then
called back the guide and had him car
~ water and wash and dress the
wounds as we'll as possible. Then
gave the man with the hurt arm stiff
horn CT brandy and sent him back for
help, while continued on my journey.
The slugs had hit the gold pieces, three
Of them. had lame back for q week
or so, but 1 was otherwise unhurt.
What became Of them? I afterwar1
met the one that caught It in the knee.
He was going about the market IN
Oaxaca on a peg leg peddling reboses
and telling the people he had lost his
leg in a fierce encounter with highway
men. He said his partner was on 4
tourney, but fancy that he meant he
had been detected in some rascalisy
and sent to prison"