The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-17
SOLD As 4 SLAVE.
A Before the War story Of the scheme Of Two
Cubans 70 Raise Some Money.

NObD ~
A Before the war story Of the scheme Of Two
Cubans 70 Raise Some Money.
Two gray haired men met in the hotel lobby
and. with every evidence Of delight at the
meeting, shook hands and forthwith adjourned
to the ~potltion department.
There. a story goes with that" said the
clerk TO the reporter, jerking his head over
toward the retreating figures, and II you viii
ask your coachman TO hitch your wagon to q
star for n few brief moments I'll give you tie
particular rs narrated to me this morning by
the elder party, who preceded his friend hifher
by some eighteen hours.
They are Cubans. Us you may have inferred
from their dark compilations, proceeded the
clerk. The name of the older one is Mendez.
and of IN. younger. Guardia. and they have
lived in the United Slater for the past twenty
years. While they lived in Cuba they were
accustomed 10 visit this country every TWO OF
three years, having a business connection IN
New York. This was before the Civh War.
and travelling was not In those days what II
Is now. Still they had money and expense
was ND great object to them. They used to
come hither on any old ship that might be
sailing when they were ready to start. there
being no regular lines, and they would land in
New Orleans, or Savannah, OF Charleston, AZ
II might happen, and sometimes they would
get q ship sailing direct % New York.
Once, and this is where the story comes In,
they we're delayed in New Orleans for two
weeks and ran out Of money. They didn't
know ANYBODY well enough TO borrow from,
and they did not want TO write to their New
York friends il they could devise any other
scheme whereby they might be saved. Finally
Mr.. Mendez evolved q brilliant idea which
was that Guardia should blacken himself a little
more than nature had done for him and let
Mendss sell him as a darby. Guardia thought
1t would be a great Joke. and they waited for
O chance.
"Mendez had a friend down along the sugar
coast somewhere. fifty OF sixty miles from the
city, and he asked him If he could 70 down
and spend q few days with him. or course
such a request was only too gladly answered
In the Affirmative. and Mendez was invited TO
come and STAY a three or -four years II he wanted
20. They had money enough to buy two round
Trip tickets on the steamboat going that way.
and when the boat landed at Mendez's friend 3
plantation he went ashore followed by a darky
body servant carrying his luggage. The body
servant. It is hardly necessary for me TO ex-
plain. was Guardia, f,xed No for the occasion
on the boat a. they came along,
poor Guardia had nothing 70 do except to take
his place IN the quarters OF the real thing, and
when he went into the big house TO look after hli
wanted 10 show his hand, but Mendez pictured
TO him how necessary II was Tor item 70 get
funds and this was ihe only wa. On n EARN IN tH5
not stop kicking, whenever the opppr,nhity
offered il wa n9 jSse to- nun o opd i ins, na
thSrSsshliy e m STSsr 'h hIs I Sody4serv ana around aSsS nd
like a tyrant Of ancient Rome,
After a visit OF four or five DAYS, which
M IA ss e saD Q a sF re- re a ! more to- N S.sn o oasani'
and ordered Guardia to pack up his traps
The boat came by in the morning, and tht
IA host. referred to his ,bodyIservant as q
take him to New York with him as he wa,
il seems, had made a fairly good IMPRESSION
and when h hs nm mas a,Se1 sp 'SSs AKIN, "a msE him a f"I%
S Slm. h Msn tss h Rs.lt @ . aB BeSs0, ssii,ns . him I%s
but fnally aSreed ,S let MN hs s9 h i9I G,a, H.
in for INSPECTION After looking him over
during which operation Guardia heard himself
discussed in a more peas9 anc. dia he made snSn a ar
oIer OF $1,000 Tor him, spot cash. A thousand
dollars was about a thousand times as much
money az both friends had at the,r comfnand
acoepted the offer and took a check for the
amount on q New Orleans bank.
That night In the room Of NE mas,rr, thry
could arrive at none. and they parted the next
day with an UNDERSTANDING that Guardia mus
look out for himself As best he could. lhrii
Of the most pathetic incidents Of hi whole life
and brought tears to all eyes, and rSitrlaliy
Guardia's, Tor II ever ANYBODY was in a hole, he
was' Mendez left on the bont promising 70
repeat the delightful visit on h. way back &c
Cuba IL he came that wa, and four davs latrl
he was Joined in New Orleans BY his late BODY
servant.
was very simple. Hs had been sent "a the lIttIt
town about thres miles from the plantation or
an errand the dav after MendeE had gone, anc
clothes. In the town he scrubbed oil the colol
VI OF himaelf, put on his own clothes ana az,
pearsd NJ the little tavern with a vali1n he hac
bought on his new master credt I've stayed II
slept there that night until 4 o'clock IN p,
morning, when he slipped ont and cut across, M
country 70 catch the boat al AN upper land,ni
Mendez's friend WAS thinking about tho loss O
his newly BODY servant he could not say, ,
Neither could Mendez., and to prevent acct
dents or any dIsagreesble eIrlanatlon, IN
sippi and left New Orleans, having about geo
between them. after all debts had been, pale
They followed the water oouIts W as lar a.
usual mode Of travel then prevailing mart, o
which was stage and part railroad. arrived u
New York thew AZ once prenared a irUer ol m
mos, con,TiIr "nG,SSo '9 Gu ,Gs ,aI and d.. an SI Mt
n draft Tor this thousand dollars paid FOR Men
dez's body servant, with enough EXTRA chang,
to pay for the yalisn and Glardlas ho,el OH
They were a bit nervous over the effect o
tina Ioke on the planter, but be- was the RICH
kind Of a man. and wrote back Offering Mende
sI0OO62,i for Guardis,