The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1914-06-06

But there is always a but when
you gO 10 "a GOOD laNyor-While for
purposes OF war and national safety
foreigners arc not allowed to hold land
along tho line. they arc at perfect lib.
Drty Co hold stock .u Mexican corpora.
lions owning property within the pro
hibitod zone aud here Or where the
graft DDmes in-tnpY may even hold
tltl, loo theit own name 10 they FIRST
obtain express permission from the
chief executive OF thu republic
Not having any drag with the chief
executive and not caring to rick their
title Co the whimH OF succeeding ud-
mlnlstratiouB. Hooker and uo Lancoy,
upon The advice o. a mining lawyer ga
Gadadou. had organized themselves
into the Eagle Tail Mining company,
under the laws OF the republic Of Mex.
leo. with headquarters at Aqua Negra.
u was their plan 20 set some Mexican
20 locate tho mine for them and then.
for a consideration. transfer IL to tho
company.
Tho one weak spot IN this scheme
vas the Mexican. By trusting Aragon.
lIcnTy Kruger had not only lost tito
TO his mine. but he had been outlaweG
from the ropubllc. And now no had
bestowed upon Hooker and De Lancey
tho task ~ finding an honest Mexican.
aud keeping him honest until he made
the transfer.
While the papers were being made
out there might be a great many
temptations placed before that MeXi-
can-oither 90 keep the property for
himself or 10 hold cut To- a bigger re.
ward than had been specified. After
his experience with the a~ristocratio
Don Cipuano Aragon y Tres Palacios.
Kruger was In favor Of taking a chance
on the lower classes. lie had therefore
recommended 20 them ono Cruz Men
dez. u wood vcnder whom he had
known and befriended, as the man TO
play the part.
Cruz Mendez, according 10 Kruger.
was Woodworking. sober and honest
for a Mexican. He was also simple
minded and easy 90 handle. aud was
the particular mar who had sent word
that the Eagle Tail had az last been
abandoned. And also he was easy 10
pick out, being n little. one-eyod man
and going by tho namo n "El Tuerto."
So. in pr 7uahce OF their policy OF
playing a waiting game. Hooker and
DE Laney hung around the hotel for
several days, listening 20 the gossip
OF Don Juan de Dios and watching for
one-eyed men with prospects TO sell.
An Sonora he Is a poor and unimag-
native man indeed who has not AZ
least one lost mine or "~prospecfo' 20
sell: and prosperouslooking strangers.
riding through the country, are often
beckoned aside by half.naked paisanos
eager to show them the gold mines OF
the Spanish padres for a hundred doh
lars Mex.
Il was only a matter OF time, they
thought, until Cruz Mendez would hunt
them up and try to sell them the Eagle
Tail; and IL was their intention re-
l~uctantly 10 close the bargain with
him, for a specified sum, and then
stake him 10 the announcement fees
and gain possession OF the mine.
As this was a commonplace In the
distriet-no Mexican having capital
enough 70 work a claim and no Ameri-
can having the right TO locate one-it
was "a very natural and iuconspicuous
way 0f jumping Senior Aragon y Tres
PalaciOs' abandoned claim. II they
discovered the lead Immediately after
ward It would pass for a case OF FOOLS
lack, or al least 20 they hoped. and.
riding ont a little each day and sitting
on the hotel porch with Don Juan the
rest OF the time. they waited until pa
uence seemed no longer a virtue.
Don Juan" said DE Lancey. taking
MP the probe at last. Il had a Mexican
working for me when we were over in
tho Sierras-One OF your real. old
time workers that had never been
spoiled by IN education-and he was
always talking about la Fortuna |
guess this was the place he meant, but
Il doesn't look like it-according 20
him Il was a Mexican town. Maybe
he's around here nOg-his name was
Mendez"
Jose Maria Mendez?" inquired Don
Juan. who was a living directory OF
the place. "Ricardog Panchof Cruz?'
"Cnz!" cried De Iancey; that was
~"
"Ho lives down tho river a couple Of
miles" said Don Juan; down al Old
Fortuna
"Old F~ortunal" repeated Phil. Il
didn't know there was SUCH a place"
why. my gracious" exclaimed Don
Juan do Dios. s~candalized by such
Ignorance. EDO you mean 10 say you
have been here three DAYS and never
heard about Fortuna Vieja7 Why,
this isn't Fortuna This Is an Ameri-
can mining camp-the old town Is
down below.
That's where this man Arugon. tho
big Mexican OF the country. has his
ranch und store. spaniHh7 Him2 No,
indeed -mitad He is haif Spanish and
half Naqul Indian. but hts wife II a
pure spauinri-one OF the few In the
country. Her father was from Madrid
aud she ~ a Villanueva-a very beau
uiul woman IN her day. with golden
hair and the presence OF a queen