Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1899-02-15

that Is gong 10 Sail Ior tne Oentrai
American ports next Wednesday and
will put You ashore at Santa Rosa. I've
induced the administration TO make
Santa Rosa consular port, and you
will be appointed consul at that place in
the course of day or two. There won't
he any money in the office, but you
won't have any official work to do, and
the fact that you are CONSUL will give
YOU all the opportunities you will need
for collaring the logwood business. be-
Iieve that is all l have to say, and
presume Mr.. Smith, that you will be
ready to sail next week. "
That was just old Bromley "a way, He
never wasted word. Some men would
have taken half day to tell me what
they expected me to do in Santa Rosa,
but Bromley Just let me know that l
was to go there and COLLAR the logwood
business. was to do it in my own way,
and if l succeeded it would bring me
lot of money, and If l failed, why,
Bromley would size the thing up and
put the blame where it belonged. I new
or hesitated a minute about going, and
when l landed at Santa Rosa, with a
trunk, an American flag and 50, 900 in
my belt, knew that had my future as
a business man in my own hands.
The president was old General Al
yarez, who had been elected twice and
had then made up his mind that cleo
tions were waste Of time, and oonse-
quently held on to his Office without
asking any permission Of any one. He
was glad to be recognized by the Unit
ed States, and as was the only consul
in the whole republic I was a pretty
important man. However, my mind was
more set on business than it was on
honor and glory. went to work and
gathered together more logwood in two
months than had been exported in the
previous two years loaded tramp
with the logwood, and my firm decided
to run a monthly steamer of their own
between San Francisco and Santa Rosa.
I saw, too, that the country was full Of
first class mahogany, and I calculated
to build up good business in that as
we'll as in logwood. Besides, meant to
induce the natives to go in for coffee
growing In short, I thought saw my
way to make big fortune for myself
and partners and to make the republic
of Orizaba prosperous concern.
had been in Santa Rosa about fort
night when young fellow-Colonel
Mendoza-who was the commander Of
the presidents guard, came rushing up
to my door with his drawn sword in his
hand and mob Of soldiers and citizens
If lot Of lazy, half dressed Indians
can be called citizens-at his heels.
let him in at once, for he was evidently
in a big bury, and so was the crowd
that was after him. He dropped into a
chair clean out Of breath, and by the
time grasped the situation and got my
gun ready the whole crowd was ham
mering at the door and yelling for the
colonel to come out and be killed. ]
will say he was brave man, for al
that the mob would break in and massa-
GRE him he sat smiling and gasping in
his chair, and as soon as he got his
breath he began to apologize for dis
turbing me and offered to leave at once
il he was putting me to any inconven-
fence. told him to stop where be was,
and then opened the door, and holding
my Winchester in my left hand asked
the people what they wanted. Some
body sings out that they wanted Men
doza's life and meant to have it, and
that if interfered in the circus would
be hung on the nearest tree. didn't
make any answer until had seized my
big American flag and spread it out on
the front door sill and all along my On
trance hall. Then says to the crowd
that was the American consul; tina,
nobody could get into the house without
trampling on the American flag, an6
that If any living Orizabian dared sc
much as to touch 1t with his dirty bare
foot I'd send for man -of-war thai
| would blow the town to smithereens anG
hang the president and every other mar
In the republic who was respectable
enough to wear trousers. 81 give you
fair warming" added, THAT shall
open fire on you from my top windows
In five minutes, and I'm not afraid to
fight you and your whole army till you
take bath, which, calculate, will be
some years to come. That settled them.
Like all half civilized half breeds, they
could understand the meaning Of rife
in a white mans hands. They skunk
away as If they had been operated on
with horsewhip, and when / went
back to the room where the colonel was
sitting he put his arms around my neck
and kissed me on both cheeks and swore
that he would never forget that had
saved his life, which there isn't the
slightest doubt that had.
That was the beginning Of my friend
ship with the colonel We got to be as
thick a. thieves in short time, and the
colonel hardly ever failed to come and
smoke my cigars in the evening when
he was off duty He was polite, brave
and good tempered, and as for honesty,
he seemed now and then to have little
inkling of what ii meant, which was
more than could be said for any other
Orizabian. If he had been raised in a
Christian land, with Sunday schools and
newspapers and honest elections, he
would probably have turned out to be a
first class man.
One evening Mendoza said to me as
he was starting for home: don Smith,
want you to promise me that you
won't go out of this house for the next
two days. You will be perfectly safe SO