Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-06-25
EXHIBIT Y

DIEGO, the blind Yaqui musician sat on the edge
j of his cot within his diminutve hut of branches
and dried grass Across his knees lay strnged
instrument fashioned from armad1llo she'll AIKEN
in conjunction with his primitive roottree and the
sounds he drew from the rifed armadio, Diego con-
stituted Exhibit in Dads Park of Educational
Amusement
Diego wore the usual garb of the Mexican peon,-
white cotton blouse and baggy trousers scarlet SASH
peaked sombrero, and leather sandals Even with his
SCARED eyebas concealed by black goggles his strong
brown features impressive. He had the athletic
leanness and the magnificent chest development of his
race 1t is marvel that people with such chests
should be almost unconquerabe.
The American bedquilt that served as mattress on
Degos dotted along the edge by little hllocks,
Yaqui's hoard was thus his calendar of exile. Some
piles hattened but he so distributed his few ex-
pendtures not to nvaidate the record.
Diego heard the gates creaking their Sunday alter
noon opening and took his place the bench before
his hut The day was fine, and he soon knew by the
volume of shutting and talk that the attendance was
above the average He waited until the Shutting was
threaded by Dads familiar STEP Next followed the
thunp of Dads placing his movable soapbox platform
and its weary creak under Dads substantial weight
Then the confused babble of idle talk checked by
the voice of the parks appe-cheeked old guardian.
The Indian recognized the proper names 'Yaqu
and "Yucatan in spite of Dads fatted vowels and
the words were like smoke the eyes, for he understood
that Dad expoundng the defeat and deportation
of his people; but there culver of his bronze
mask. He heard his name, and judged correctly
that it was being told how his had been shot out
by Mexican soldier and himself left for dead in bunch
of underbrsh where he lay for two days before his
people found him.
Even at "Rosita" and "Pepita' his lean brown
fingers made no fantest vibration of the strings on
which they rested, though the words like cactus
thorns in the flesh. Rosta his wife, shipped off
to Yucatan with five of their children ". en- he Law
in the brush; Pepta, the youngest child, had been
from the mothers and left behind small
and cumbersome for the journey.
Here the Indians mind bEanched off on a trail it was
continually following these last weeks although it led
nowhere. Seven money-heaps ago. after of Dads
speeches. an American woman had pressed forward and
told Diego in broken Spanish that she was the wife of
American mine in Sonora; that she leav-
ing join her husband there; that she would try
find Pepita and send her to Diego the park Very
kind of the American sefora but Pepa had been lost
year, he himself had searched and searched for
certainty regarding her. many of the Yaqui chill
dren thus abandoned had died-no, the matter was
hopeless!
Diego that Dad had ceased and he
expected to do his turn. Usually his performance,
though conscientious to quantity listess and
chancal. The visitors to the park nothing but
tumble of unntelligible noises to him. His darkened
eyes looked always into what had been when he a
and alive,-so alive that he made songs for his
people because, whatever they felt he felt
than they felt it in his throat and his fingers till it had
burst forth into song.
TODAY, for the first time since his home nest had
been robbed, the spirit of improvisation upon
him. He broke into singsong chant not unnleodious
finging his shutting chatting audience but