Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-07-19
ETuC|i0 Soils, HignWQynQn.
By JOHN HEARD, JR.


so vividly-and the contrast between
then and now." He did not finish the
sentence, and again for some minutes
be smoked on silently, while sat
equally silent and waiting.
"Perhaps you do not know, senor, "
he began presently. II came of good
family. My ancestors came over from
Spain about the beginning of the last
century, which may or may not be true.
At any rate my father was an intimate
friend Of General Calzado, whom the
Juarez government outlawed, and about
the time I was 10 years old both were
captured, executed side by side and all
the property confiscated by the state.
Nothing except my mothers hacienda,
La Perla, was saved from the wreck,
and there was allowed to grow up
without education or restraint Of any
kind. You know what life is on Mex
ican rancho and what qualities Of hu-
man nature are most likely to be devel-
oped in such an atmosphere. Well, as
a boy, was perhaps worse than the
average. / am extremely passionate,
and when am aroused lose all con-
troll over myself to such an extent that
am not much better than wild ami
NAL. l ought to have been shot or put
out of the way long ago, and sooner or
later that is the fate expect to meet.
81 was only II when had quarrel
with friend over girl we both fam
cied. We had fight, of course, and l
killed him. can't say that / felt much
remorse at the time. On the contrary,
was rather proud of my victory. No one
had seen US together, so was not afraid
of it being discovered. My rival was
out of the way, and profited by it.
Then few days later, satiated and dis
enchanted, | realized what l had done.
So between fear and remorse and
shame, determined to leave the coun-
try.
"Ah, Europel Don Juan, that was a
revelation to me. l had never seen any.
thing of civilization. / saw it first in
Paris. For few months I lived the
reckless, profitless life of most Spanish
Americans abroad, but at last its shall
lowness palled upon me- | saw that
whenever COR people came in touch
with intelligent foreigners our inferior
ity was painfully evident and it made
me angry to be only second rate. The
remedy was obvious. made up my
mind to work instead Of play. I was as
good as they, and if work could prove
it they should know it. get my teeth
and l worked like a horse. Now and
then the wild animal in my nature got
the tetter of me and l had to let him
loose, but not as before, for education
had given me strong bride, and after
each outbreak I pulled up and went
back to my books with new ardor. "
Eraclio stopped, and for the first time
since be began to talk he looked at me.
"You wouldn't own up to all this,
would you? Would you have catalogued
your virtues and left out the vices?
That is an Anglo-Saxon trait and one Of
the meanest of it's characteristics. You
all think man can't have his failings
known and still be a man. Hypocritesl
Shakespeare and Fielding painted their
men naked, part good and part bad,
true human beings-their men will live
while all the sawdust manikins you
put up today will be forgotten tomorrow.
81 have seen a good many English
and Americans, Don Juan, and if have
found them perhaps stronger and more
generous as whole than men of other
hationalities have found them not a
whit less human. The men in your
newspapers and the men in your novels
are not the same species. You smile:
OF course-of course-the theories and
criticisms of Mexican bandit are only
fit to be laughed at. But yet you cannot
honestly deny the truth of what say.
However, that is neither here nor there.
So, senior, worked hard and learned
something. | travelled and studied both
in England and Germany; then one day
awoke as from dream, and came
home to Mexico.
"We love our country, Don Juan, in
our unintelligent, passionate way, and
the jico to me means perhaps even more
than the union does to you. With my
knowledge, my fortune and my will
felt strong. / felt that l should become
q great leader and that my name would
be known and loved throughout my
country. On my way to Europe | had
passed few days in Colombia, visiting
some relatives, and one night out on the
plains, as we eat by the campfire, one
of the older men spoke of Bolivar. see
him now, Don Juan. standing in the
glowing light, his deep voice trembling
with emotion, laundering forth Boil
vars proclamation Of independence.
Even then, ignorant boy that | was, the
scene impressed me profoundly, and the
respect, the veneration of his listeners,
as the old man ended with the invoca'
tion, 'Ah, Bolivar-liberatorn n-I have
never forgotten. Bolivar! Why not
Soils? 1t is great purpose that makes
great man, and l believed that my
purpose was a great one. Throughout
the land of Mexico, wide as it is from
north to south, Eraclio Soils should be
a household word. Ha! AS it has be-
come indeed. A household word
throughout the land, quoted in the an
nual reports among the cursed of Mex
leo, OH the same pages with yellow fe-
yer, famine and drought.
Soils had risen from his chair. He was
much excited and spoke quickly, with
passionate utterance and unconscious
gesticulation. Though he was speaking
to me, he had about forgotten my pres