Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-17
CHAPTER XIV.
The Frontier Guards.

The Frontier Guards.
Well up to windward of the range fire
that fool horse Jones came to a finish sud
den all a-straddle, swaying. nose down
and blood a-dripping. So far Curly had
just stayed in the saddle from force OF
habit, but when the usual motion stopped
between his knees he surely forgot to be
alive any more and dropped like a shot
bird to grass. AS for Jim, he was too stif,
to dismount, but the buckskin mare lay
down with him completes; so he rolled from
the saddle and managed to stagger around
He uncinched Jones saddle, eased his
mouth of the bit, loosed the mares girth
as she lay, then knelt by Curly feeling him
over for wounds. He didn't know until then
mat curly had bullet in the right arm;
put all that side was in a mess of dry
plood, and when he cut away the coat II
began to squirt He plugged up the hole
made bandage with his handkerchief
twisted 1t UP with stick until the blood
quit coming, then rolled himself down dead
asleep beside his partner.
The big gale roared overhead ha 70 ut
flying dust; the country to the north
was {. naming volcano; the sky was whirl
OF clouds. all painted purple and crimson
VIII, with the daybreak. but my kids and their
horses cared nothing more at all for storm
or nre. Then the skyline along the east be-
gan to glow white-hot burned by the lift
OF the sun; and stark black against that
rcae bunch Of horsemen. They were
coming from La Morita custom house TO
ma out what sort of felons had set the
range on fire. They were Mexican From
tier Guards.
Their lieutenant told me afterward that
when they saw the played out horses and
those two poor kids who lay between them,
they thought the whoie-outfit must be dead
Ihey reckoned up Jim for one of their
counfrymen, and surely did everything in
their power to act merciful
fTlng the range comes pretty near being
serious thing, causing Inconvenience to
cattle' apt to annoy settlers by burning
thelr MONIES and cooking their wives and
families. Naturally that sort Of play is
discouraged, and the Frontier Guards was
only acting Hp to their lights in arresting
my youngsters. Still, they didn't act haugh-
" ana oppressive, but sent a rider off to
fetch their wagon for the prisoners, and
meanwhile made camp and boiled them a
drink of coffee.
The teniente woke them UP. gave them
tnelr coffee and told them their sins while
the rest of the greasers. talking all at once,
explained what their officer meant AS to
jim and Curly, they were interested in
that coffee whole lot and ready to excuse
the Frontier Guards; but the worries and
troubles of pack of greasers only made
them tired; so they told them not to fuss
and slept through the rest of the sermon
w w men they woke up again, they found
themselves in prison.
That calaboose at La Morita is built Of
the usual adobe sun-dried brick, with a
ceiling of cactus sticks laid beams to
carry couple of feet of solid earth A
,dobe house is the next thing to comfort
In a climate like ours, where the sun will
scorch mans hide worse than boiling
water. The Frontier Guards had laid clean
hay on the dirt floor, and hung an ola of
water to cool in the draught, but when my
boys woke up they were sure puzzled, for
the night had fallen, the moon was not yet
as VOLTS mouth. Stiff and sore from
nara riding, Jim got up to grope in the
darkness ravaging around In search of
grub. He found hay and water but nothing
else, so thought he must have been changed
into horse, and set up howl for corn.
Then he attracted Curly's notice by tum-
bling over his bed.
How many laigs have yo gotT says
Curly, cause that's ample. Catch me
some water"
Jim reached down the hanging jar and
Jury drank =! been waiting hours for
that says he; now sluice my arm
jim threw cool water on the wound 'Is
it very bad?" he asked
It's sure attracting my attention, JIM"
Can do anything?"
don't use my laigs-theyre private Whar
is this place."
Jim looked up at a window-gap, high in
the lobe wall, and saw the starlight check
cred with iron bars; then, listening. he
heard muttering of Spanish talk, and no
ticed the door of the cell lined out with
glimmer from the guard room
1T smells bad like trap. said Curly.
Il wonder" says Jim, what time they
feed the animals? I'm starving
My two Sides" says Curly ''is rubbing
together, and I'm sure sorrowful. We done
got captured somehow
Il remember now. They gave us coffee
They must have been Frontier Guards-so
this is La Morita"
why did they gather us In? We didn't
spoil any greasers."
mo. but we fired the grass"
1T was not their grass-we set fire to
Arizona
Il don't think they mind says Jim,
and they won't worry about the details.
You see they've got to make a play at
being useful, old chap, or else their gov
erhment would get tired and forget to send
their wages
What will they do to us?'
Keep us three days to cool, then find us
guilty and send us down to Fronteras."
r,a,,T remember Inea says Curly. when I was
The little wayside crosses?"
Yes, everywhere on the Mexican side OF
the line-the little wooden grave signs by
the TRAIL
thought of the wooden crosses. They I'M
derstood, but 1 believe It's UP against me
to explain for folks who don't know that
country. You see. there used to be only
two industries In old Mexico silver mining
and stealing, but most of the people made
living by robbing each other. Then the
great President Diaz came along, who had
been robber himself. He called UP all the
robbers he'd known In the way of business
AMI hired them as a sort of mounted rang
ers and Frontier Guards to wipe out the
rest OF the thieves: That made the whole
republic peaceful. but when there were no
more robbers to shoot, the rangers and
guards began to feel monotonous the coun-
try being plumb depleted of game.
Well thanks to DiaZ, Mexico has gone SO
tame that life amt really worth living,
and the Frontier Guards are scared of being
disbanded because they're obsolete. Like
wise the Mexican people are so humane
that they don't allow capital punishment,
and the guards feel a heap discouraged
about what few prisoners they catch.
They're fearful pleased If they get thief
who doesn't happen to be their own cou-
sin, most especially If he's a white man,
real game and in season. That's why they
lash him hands and feet to horse, trot
him off into the desert and take pot shots at
him by way of practice. Afterward they
report him for attempted escape" His
relations are allowed to bury him comfort
able and put up a cross to his memory.
That is why the trails along the Mexican
frontier are all lined with neat little crosses.
You reckon" says Curly, that Well
have little crosses?"
ITS beastly awkward" says Jim, "but
we've got to take our medicine"
And yet / dunno" says Curly, thought
full about those crosses; IF we get spoilt