New-York tribune., 1895-08-18

- l., ~. hor.s its appearance told SAD taie.
rhs on,v ornament in the place was a rude cru
c,6x OF cedar wood nailed against the wall uP'''
which hung a rosary OF colored peaos
After an interval Of ten minutes or So 'oe.
and his wife returned. and asked ""e'"e,
would care to see the own whie suppe' We"
he,rg nrenared. assented Willingly ana
strolled away toward the river io''0" S,s...
miscellaneous company Of Mexican eh''u'e"'
ragged healthy little urchins VINO Aep. :,
snect,u distance. and stared persistentiy' as
a stockman In brown canvas o'e'"e s,.
felt hat had never been heard of before u's-
.u.a .,.aruard that II was not my appear
ance which reused their interest ana curios'',
Arv white man who could be polite TO MeA'-
oar ss1ora WAS worth following II only 10 see
what strange thing ne might DO next
THE village OF the Ponil consisted OF uo~e''
u,,,o oasos snr,nkled over a square mile oi
ground constructed of adobe (baked muo, ,a sir,a
lar in annearance to Jose's. Each casa con, ,art
two rooms. in which the family i've nseu smoI, and
promi iscuously. The rooms were Ne.' ,haw never
tho families often very large. put 'ne' 10y No
ro,noved into bigger quarters Tor tnere az,
sanitary inspectors in the POM, anu ,o, he is
can loves warmth above evervthii's "' "
The living of the village is princi paly mao o., Us
growing little maize n the panhs pi VI to,,, ~
Cimmarron by means OF priIl'i. snd chill
irrigation II Is done by the women anu III T.,
dren suppjemented with help from the ien ,i 80
the busy times. In the winter ny hond and
sheep for the ranchmen Of the neighpoI .oup, ,,r
were their earnings spent In the sulP ,,rh for
families tbey would be comfortable ehousn' ~ ~,
their wants are very simple. ohlo' 'uI' " 49,,
Mexicsns are invcterate gamblers anu 40 .. .
Invariably pay a visit to the nearest 'own ui nr
completing their herding contracts ,ne pun
sefioras see little of their husband "asn "t, sa,
The sun was low In the horizon WheH u, a' aa'
down with jose TO our evening ineH. ~. ,ho
,nn,,shed n In solitary state waited upon bF h'
seIofa's sister. an exceedingly pre,'y -, ,,,,.
fourteen. with the bearing of woman W , i
aud twentv II was nearly two years SIN, :,
had sntnyed any aides society. ana Ioun" y
so drconcerting 20 have my coifre haho'u =" ~ ="
by n damsel who smiled iostiHhlS NJ ~, "a
formed The once. ana ant"t''np ns, >" w,h nn en-
very voice when thanked her, WIN , ~" ,,d
ehantineiy gracious wave of the hhn" wa. ~ "'a
| not been intensely hungry. ana lhe "'',' ,',,' w
peculiar kind ! should nave ,'n on ro' heean ,o
Portable indeed As II was. rooh "'n", ,na, ~
think more Of the dish placed b'i",' wv ,' s'',,cl
the sehorta who put II mere ! WE nann,s
again with the dreadful poverty of 'nere , ,ap,s
The meal was served on The three-i"ss'u '",''
unon a red cloth suspcioLsly IKE 'h' H''~'
had seen an hour before adornlhs tne s"" ,,
of the sonora, and CONSISTED In o. oonne and-the
contents of the dish. ] found great "ih' u'' "
first in making out what ms nlfn, ,,oo,,,oDod
after careful examination thd 'as'r .s ondt
80, 1, was mutton fat melted into nqWd cohu'-
i .na' "a hearing upon It's surface half dozen
very small bits of meat; the whoie pe'"S -,
ouslv mixed with chill. coarse k.iu ,. n,.arv o
nenner The dish which contained th's saS
romnound was about tht size and shape oi an
ordinary slop-basin Such was our eNei''ne lid
nast after twelve hours without loou' s
rotbine and did my best TO preserve an u"
ruH,ed countenance while | gulped down a9
much of the contents of the siop-oas'h a.
dared for was sure that IL was the peHt ~.
had TO offer: but / could not helP pon'o
nioorilv upon the prospect for the morrow
The errand that brought me to the POM s was
,ha buggy in which we had driven thither jose
had bought 1t from my partner, nu. n,, mare
which | was to ride back on tne lonoMins ; -,
Thus 7 had still breakfast to get 'hrousn a.
Ponil and forty miles to rae ai.ei W, ,b;s weak
burning SUM- The probable nature OF ti,'s VI On
fast was serious anxiety 10 me as are ny
supper. and the meal was dispose % ,,n ,n 3D.
emn silence When II was nnisheu W. .,
iourned to a grassy bank OUTSIDE tiie iiouse 9 y.
smoke Quiet pipe The sun had disappeaIeu
now. and the dusk was creeping up swil.N - I, a
the east in less than an hour nleht "ru ,,J,
,,non ne I Law back at my ease, ana dro"s''y
Watched the girls who were sitting toee'h'I
little way off busily sewing. Jose was W. M,'n
them lingering piece of stun suli'do'' ,,
new dress-which his wife had placed upon ,, no
," Gov inenection II was pretty, homellKe
sceno and I smiled to myself as reIneHoereu
the absurd hesitation / had felt at rehnqulsnns
ont of place in such an atmospnre as 'his x,
So thinking turned to knock the ashes ii ION
nv pipe which had gone OUT ana Wds 49, ~ an
reiight It, when my attention was causn' ~, -; 60
inc horses Somebody seemed 10 be IN huI,!
this evening I sat up and called TO Jose. ne ne
was smiling at the time, playfully puihhs nia
wfe's hair; my words and gesture ile ,ppics sp
70 his feet with a startled look. and ran quick!
10 a place from whence the road to Cimmation
was visible for two miles ne s'oou ' ..,,,,
for nearly a minute shading MS eyes wiz,
he hand. then he ran back to us ana
such change had passed over the man ,;na ,aoe
that | stared at him in amazemen'; iis htr nPo
naturallv loose were now compressed into a thin; th;
ct
q knife in his hand. l sprang TO my lee' nan. a.
believing that the knife was meant FOR me. but
Jose only touched my n1 arm ana sbs VEST: VEST
"Vacheros come-vacheros from Cimmarron.
failed to the point lhueeu' 'o""o'"
we'll what's the matter?
Jose stamped and swore aioud. rs
"Natter, carrambas! You no sabe: Desperate
cowboys these. Me know horses. An, V~acheIos ~
davolos: vamos' you-turn'nWs Wn g,IsbM"in IL casa
P'raps they no see YOU there; praps no. ana YOU
sefor. run-run fast away, pointing 10 the river
"Go very smart, and cowboys no eaten sou a'
ALL ,ou.uaoro,
looked around without moving, as pe"Nuereu
as ever The women had scurried into the rdhch
like rabbits into hole. and from 'Wo heis -. M
ing houses three Mexicans were tearing up ~ u'
al full speed their faces as anxious as jose
What are vou afraid Off" exclaimed, shortly
feeling strongly inclined to laugh we are n'e
Jose shook his head impatenty. and swore
again. ,., oa o
Isl. 81. 81. But we have not one Ps'oi' Gnu % !
are a boy They have rifles, everything anu
they are yacheros. with much whiskey In them
All. los diavolos, You do not know you know
nothing" - -. ?
The horsemen were not far away now put
had not seen them yet. they were riding from
the west and Joses house lay between us NOW,
the Mexican finding me hopelessly careless OF ny
own safety off hastily TO confront the 'isit-
ors followed by his friends
The men had scarcely disappeared around tne
corner OF The house when solution OF Jose pane
dawned upon me- Mexicans nave an intense
dread of the low-class cowboy for these western
bullies the sum of whose education Is good rid-
ing and lasso-throwing. quick shooting ana ioud
swearing have more scruple-perhaps a niue
less-in killing a Mexican than a cali. ana. when
drunk delight in the oommittal OF the most brutal
crimes They are not superlatively courageous,
as a rule, but having a good deal or deVll-may-
care recklessness about them ana being per
| Il 4ho foar they inSnire In the