Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-10-30
Tht STORY Tellet.
From the Youths Companion.
AN INDUSTRIOUS REFUGEE.

~~S-
The Purser's Mysterious Passenger.
"Mexico must indeed have changed
greatly within the last ten or fifteen
years."
Chow SOP"
"Why, it is now one of the most
peaceful countries in the world. But
20 years ago it was the land of revolts,
instructions and pronunciamientos.
The cannon-fire of one revolution
scarcely ceased when another broke
out in some other state or province.
1t was the country of perennial civil
war. But all that appears to have
ceased abruptly.
"Numerous railroads are built, or
building. Telegraphs and telephones
are erected. The country is governed
as by clockwork. A stranger can
travel unarmed there now in perfect
safety, whereas 20 years ago one could
not take walk in the suburbs Of even
the capital city without being in dan
ger from robbers and bandits. An ef-
6cient police, the rurales, now main
tain order.
"Mills and factories are going into
operation. An admirable school sys-
tenn has been established. The eccle-
siastical power, which had held the
people in ignorance and superstition
for three centuries, has been checked
and Ii uited. 1t short, Mexico is or
derly 6 I'd progressive, and is becoming
prosperous and self-respecting."
"And do you know to what this
great change for the better is due p
asked a Gne.looking, elderly man, sit
ting a little farther down the long
table, for this conversation took place
at banquet on the occasion of the
great anniversary of the Knights Tenn
plars in Boston, in 1895.
"To what, then ?" asked the pre-
vious speaker.
ITO one man-the patriot president
of Mexico, General Por6rio Diaz."
"But is not Diaz more dictator and
an autocrat than Republican presi.
dent ?" asked one.
"He makes of himself what Mexico
requires. His inclinations have always
been in favor of popular liberty. He
possesses strong commonsense, and
neither Washington nor Lincoln sur
passed him in love of country. With
al, Diaz is a man of immense nerve
and capacity for hard work. He al
lows no procrastination nor neglect in
business. And while he
attends to present affairs, he foresees
and prepares for future necessary
"Singular, is it not" said another,
"that Mexico's two most illustrious
men, Benito Juarez and Porfrio Diaz,
should be of that Aztec race which
the Spanish conquerors so cruelty op-
pressed and slaughtered! From this
subjugated race have come the two
patriots who have done most for the
Mexico of our times"
"Singular, indeed! And the domi-
nant traits of both Juarez and Diaz
are Indian rather than Spanish. No
Spaniard could have passed through
what Diaz did in the earlier years Of
his career and survived. He evinced
the subtlety and endurance of the In
dian character then. Those perilous
earlier years sternly disciplined Diaz
in self.reliance and in self-control.
"Did you ever hear the story of his
return from exile to Mexico, in 1875,
when a bounty of $4,000 had been
set on his head by his enemy, Lerdo,
who had control of the government :?
Masonic influence aided Diaz greatly
at that dark hour of his life. 1t is
therefore quite appropriate to tell the
story here, although it has never be-
fore been made public" And the
story was as follows:
One warm evening in July, 1875, the
old steamship City of Havana, then
sailing between New York, Havana,
Vera Cruz, Tampico and New Orleans,
lay at the levee in New Orleans re-
ceiving cargo and getting ready to
drop down the river early the follow
ing morning. Sands, the purser, as
usual on the eve of sailing, was very
busy with his freight accounts, in
voices, bills of lading, and so forth.
He was then a young man of %. a
native Of New York, where he had
taken the degree of Master Mason.
During the evening he had occasion
to 60 hastily to the house of the New
Orleans agent for the steamship line.
On his way back to the ship, just as
he reached the waterfront, a we'll
dressed stranger paused in passing,
made a sign to him, and then, consid-
erably to the young purser's surprise,
raised "the flag Of Distress secret
signal reserved for use between brother
Masons in cases of extreme urgency.
Sands made the proper response, and
told the applicant to come to him in
his private room on board the steam
ship. Thither the stranger soon fol-
lowed him, and after introducing him
self, stated that he had made the dis
tress signal in behalf of brother Ma
son, Mexican military officer whom
necessity compelled to return at once
to his native land, but whose life was
in jeopardy.
"It is our fraternal duty to aid him."
the purser's visitor continued. "We
appeal to you, therefore, to conceal
him on board this ship, and to land
him secretly at Tampico, if possible,
or failing that, at Vera Cruz. His life
stands in the gravest peril, and will
hang on your discretion"
"But-who is he? What is his
name2D Sands asked HNot an oI1t