Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-11-14

1872 and 1878 the Carlists held the
mountain, and more or less fusillading
was going on. The possibility of my
way being blocked by the Carlists never
entered into my calculations.
Our train crossed the bridge over the
Bidassoa, and we were on Spanish soil
Soon we entered the gorges of the Pyr-
enees, and while specializing whether
I should awaken my wife to see the
magnificent scenery all necessity for
awakening any one on that train was
over Three or four musket shots rang
out our train was off the rail and after
a crash or two came to a sudden stop,
and then a babel arose, while the train
was surrounded by armed men. 1t was
laughable. 1t seemed like opera bouffe,
the real thing, this motley array of
brigands all trying to maintain under
difficulties the grave Spanish exterior.
One monkey Of IS or 10 years. armed,
came to our compartment, and pointing
to my chain said he wanted it and my
watch. None of US understood Spanish,
but we all comprehended his meaning
readily. I refused to make him gift
and got rio OF MIN easily.
We were all ordered to alight, and
our captors seemed inclined to be ugly
Myself and party were about the only
we'll dressed people ON the train, and
seeing a priest close by l went up to
him, and ascertaining he could speak
French I began in very bad French in
deed to threaten with very dire conse-
quences Don Carlos and every band of
Carlists who dared to annoy an English
duke and duchess and demanded in
slant shelter and a guard for my wife,
the duchess. We could hardly keep from
laughing, it was so very like melo-
drama My wife thoroughly enjoyed
the situation, and l should have done SO,
too, had 1 not had such strong reasons
for quick passage through Spain to blue
water ON the south, for l desired to put
some leagues of Neptune's domain be-
tween myself and the old world.
The priest, although a sallow, somber
fellow, was very good one and seemed
to realize the gravity of the situation,
for calling the chief to him he warned
him to be careful That gentleman
came up, and drawing himself up said
very proudly, "Sir, we are soldiers, not
robbers. " l said was very glad to
know it and demanded TO be informed
if ] was prisoner or not and was told
l was not, uut with the same breath he
said he would be obliged to detain US
for n few days There was q fonda, or
inn, close by, and leaving my wife
there | finally managed by a liberal use
Of money to secure an OK cart, and by
virtue of great generalship on the part
of myself and servant got all our bag
gage out of the wrecked train and safe
ly up to the inn.
Spaniards are provokingly slow, but
by riding muleback five miles away
succeeded in seeing the local command
er of the Carlist forces, and he promised
to send me the next day pass through
the lines going either south or north. l
got him also to include in the pass my
fellow passengers. l did this because
there was a Portuguese family who had
tickets for South America. They We're
then ON their way to embark at Lisbon,
and the old gentleman, the head Of the
1uIll1Nf Was very MOdh H4A AAA-
My safe plan would have been to re-
turn to France, make my way to Brest
and embark from there to New York,
and that would have been my course
had 1 any conception of the slowness of
the Spanish officials and Of the fierce
storms and SHOWS that dominate the
passes of the Pyrenees IN winter.
We were informed by many officials,
railway guards, custom house officers,
Carlists, etc, that by crossing 30 miles
south we would pass the lines and get
to a little town ON the railway where
trains left frequently for Madrid. The
Spaniards about the place would never
have let us start out on that perilous
trip had it not been for the money there
was in it. [ had secured at round price
three century old bullock carts, and in
the afternoon of the second day we got
off. | had all the women and the sick
Portuguese in one cart, with the two 9th
er carts ahead heaped with luggage
Thus there were eight bullocks, four
mules and (nnlucky number) IS men
engaged.