The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1895-07-18
SOFT BLACK EYES.

compared to the lax, future he has map
ped out for himself, may make or mar it
I learned all this and moro one sultry May
day In Mexico five years ago.
I had been sent to Mexico as chief of
surveying corps to establish the boundaries
of the Santa Anita grant, which lay along
the Rio Claro just outside the city of Chi
huahua. 1t was responsible position for
q young man, and held my head high.
1t was the day Of La Fiesta de San Qua
dalupe. The saint himself had been dead,
understood, several hundred years, but
In Mexico that doesn't make any differ
ence. The longer folks are dead there the
more they seem to be thought Of and the
bigger birthday party they have. Almost
every other week contains the feast day"
Of some dead saint or saintess, and trade
and commerce are suspended to do the oc-
casion justice. The natives of Mexico are
the most perennially pious people on earth.
Why, have known them-men in my own
employ--to be so enthused over the pos
thumous birthday of some long dead saint
that they would get up in the gray dawn
to go about celebrating It, This morning,
the morning of Guadalupe's feast day, the
whole force of poems under me had struck.
No chainmen, no fagmen, no axmen were
American assistants, staid behind. When
I began abusing them for the customs OF
Mexico, they said while they did not care
even remotely for the saint to whom II
was dedicated, still they were glad it was
holiday and they thought they would go
up stream and fish awhile. They were
only Indifferent laymen, without any re-
ligious feeling.
When was left alone in camp 1 spent
a short time on my field notes, when II
came over me that was wasting the day.
Just outside the chaparral the river was
laughing and murmuring in the open. II
seemed to ask me to walk beside it. The
adobe huts along its banks were tenant
less; their inmates had gone to the feast.
But strange sight, there at the bend OF
the river where the waters were the mer.
REST was a solitary worker, and whatever
1t was she was doing she was doing 1t
with vim. A dark eyed, dark haired,
dark shawled daughter Of Spain she
seemed to be, and yet she was working
and working hard--on "feast dayP' A
fit of curiosity seized me to know what she
was doing and why she was doing 1t.
| approached her with the question on my
| lips at what did she work. and por-kay Il
| spell it as 1 said it). Softly she raised a
| pair of melting orbs and sweetly and elo.
| quently she answered me. From her reply,
in the most musical language in the world,
| / gathered that she would be at the feast,
| but that she must cleanse the soiled linen
| that lay around her on the sand, for the
owner of it, gentleman who was staying
at the United States hotel, wanted it by
noon, and tomorrow would not do (she
said this plaintively). If it were not done
by noon, she finished most pathetically,
she would get no diners, and that she
needed in the superlative degree. Dinero
| All, the next most potent thing in Mexico
to saints days is money!
AS her red lips told me this her great
black eyes wandered from the soiled
clothes at her feet to the spires of the Ca
| thedral In the distance and the waving
foliage Of the plaza where the feasting and
merrymaking were going on. There was
look Of sadness and longing in them as
she gazed. Being tender hearted man,
asked her If there was aught could do for
| her. In wonderful mixture of Anglo.
Spanish, which 1 invented while in Mex.
leo, and which no one could ever master
but myself, assured her was at her serv.
| Ice II she SO desired and asked how could
| assist her.
|
scarlet mouth said, in silvery sweet tones,
"Would you sit on a rock beside me and rut
| the shirts of the gentleman ON large rock
with a very small rockY"
Looking back now In the light of ma
turer wisdom, can see that should hav,
declined that job on the grounds that II
was too unesthetio. Butt didn't. Or
the contrary, accepted it effusively
There was a touch of romance about II
that appealed to me--the day itself began
to appeal to me for the first time. I began
to feel something of the enthusiasm fol
feast days that had taken my men out be
fore daybreak / would not be so hard or
them again, thought. Truly it was 6
very pretty custom, and began to sympa
thize with 1t and to understand 1t better
If San Guadalupe had not been so long in
TERED, in the gladness Of my heart woult
have sent him bouquet. All this triet
to conflde to Lucia. 1t touched her; Il
sounded she said, like stories she had reat
In the convent.
Her name was poem In itself-LuciS
Eulalia Graoia y Valdez. And miner Afte
that poem 1t seemed common to say that
was plain Jack Biggs. But she anticipat
ed me. She pointed to one of my business
cards that had escaped my vest poke
when threw 1t on the sand. "Meeste
Beegs, que nof" she lisped, and 1t did no
sound at all badly from her lips.
1t was pleasant to know she did not dis
like my name. This was one way of say
ing, as everybody knows, that its owne
was not disagreeable to her.
As we talked we washed, and long be
fore noon the gentleman's shirts were al
floating In the breeze from the low chaoar
raj along the river bank.
Lucia Eulalia glanced gratefully and al
ternately at the snowy linen and at me. Ny
natural thoughtfulness led me to sugges
that we might as well do the family wash
ing while we were about It, Her brothe
Antonio, the sheep herder, whom she ha(
mentioned with sisterly affection--did no
his things have need of waterP "1'her,
Is no time like the present." said 81
may set in tomorrow and rain for months
Who knowsY"
Lucia Eulalia looked at the contradict
ing blue Of the skies and laughed at m.
weather prophesies but she ran to he
adobe dwelling few rods away anC
brought from IL bundle of Antonio
things" They had apparently beer
waiting for me :or years His wardrob'
ranged from d.nW bandannas to dingie