Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-07-21

to do and will not, unless you compe
IT. I prefer you should live and serv
the State.
~ have now to propose chat eacl
of you surrender; that you return t
the north 'and fetch me all your men.
Arrived here, shall organize you
! forces into regiments of irregula
/ cavalry. You, the leaders. will hav'
/, the rank and pay of colonies. You
men will be we'll mounted, armed ant
! paid
"The new force will be disposed o
! as occasion demands. If you accept
shall rely as absolutely on your 10y
, atty as you now may rely on my word
You have until tomorrow to accept
or decline"
Don Parnrio's genius won. And
from that day to the unhappy finish
Of his official career, career that has
placed him among the foremost lead
ers of men and molders of the desti
MES of people of his generation, the
rurales, as his ex-bandit calvary be-
came known, have remained the most
loyal and effective organization Of the
Mexican army.
Luckily for my Job. all this hap
pened after had left the country.
During the two years was engaged
in guarding shipments Of bullion that
usually ran high into the thousands in
value, first from Palmer's mine, and
later from Boss Shepherds Batopilas
mine to- Chihuahua down through the
heavily timbered eorges Of the Sierra
Madre and out among the mesquite
thickets of the central plateau, my
guns got warmed up often enough to
rob the life OF its otherwise hopeless
monotony.
But l managed never TO lose any Of
the treasure entrusted to me, and to
keep fairly whole skin.
Few, indeed, were the travellers of
those hill trails who got off so luckily,
and believe it was old friend, Ben
example Of the other extreme.
He put up fight the fancy quill
drivers would feel bound to call epic.
l imagine. Certainly he contrived to
acquire more holes in his skin, and to
survive them, than most men would
regard it any use to try to get over.
Hills encounter was with one of the
bands Of Eraclio Bernal. for years the
NEST powerful and ruthless of the
bandit chiefs of the Sierra Madre
Throughout the mountain sections
of the states of Zacetecas. Durango,
Chihuahua, Sinaloa ard Sonora his
power was so far supreme that he raid
ed camps like Sombreretillio, Verta-
mas. Guanacevi, footing when and
where he pleased
AT the time Hill was climbing out OF
one of the upper tributaries Of the Rio
Fuerte, toward the crest Of the range,
with several mules loaded with rich
and freshly coined silver
from the Culiacan mint, accompanied
by three helpers.
Suddenly. without the least warning,
from the rocks and timber that thickly
bordered the trail storm of lead was
poured into his little party. The first
volley killed outright his three COM
panions.
Springing to cover behind tree,
Hill fought until he fell. emptying first
his Winchester and then his two
pistols.
{. When he regained consciousness It
was to find himself in the bandits
camp, high up among the pines, his
wounds rudely but effectively dressed,
and himself the subject of the best
care circumstances permitted.
Presently his captor. the redoubtable
Eraclio Bernal. came to see him. Ber-
nal was :. slender wisp of man, black
bearded. with great black, melancholy
eyes. looking more BETTING an anchor
tie than bandit.
well, son, coming round, hope?
rye been doing my best to save you.
Tor you earned it. Never heard of
such fight as you put up.
"You killed fifteen and wounded
eight of my men-scored with twenty
:hree of, your twenty-four shots. And
you did not go down until your last
she'll was spent, not until four shots
lad hit you in the face, four passed
through your side. and eight others
lad grazed your skin.
"You fought like thousand devils!
With three leaders like you. could
whip Don Porf1rio's army and take the
Through the many weeks it took
Hill to journey back from the border
and of death to health and strength
he bandits were unremitting in their
Kindly care Of him.
When again able to travel Bernal
started him with a strong escort that
safely landed him and his merchandise
It his destination.
All of which, I dare say the reader
will agree, constitutes rarely paral.
eled expression of the admiration Of
me bold spirit for another.
The three years in the middle
eighties that I was employed as treas
Ire guard of the Carlisle Mine. in New
Mexico. were certainly full enough CT
strife to satisfy the hungriest battler.
1t was my duty to escort a~l guard
he bullion shipments on tleir sixty
i've mile overland journey from the
nine to LOrdSburg our nearest rail-