Ellsworth American., 1916-03-15
BereaVed
A Drama of Mexico
By F. A. mitchell


that deposed Porfirio Diaz that coun-
try has been in a state of ferment and
has kept the people Of the United States
in fever Of anxiety. During the rule
OF President Huerta |, being Of an
inquiring disposition. concluded to go
down there and see for myself what
kind of people the Mexicans are.
Passing over the border line of Tex
as, entered rural Mexico and moved
on southwark, intending to visit the
capital There were then the Huerta,
the Carranza and the Villa factions, all
struggling for the upper hand. The
frightful condition Of the country did
not prevent the people from enjoying
such amusements as they could get.
stopped one evening for the night in a
little cluster of houses-it could not
be dignified by the name of town--and,
hearing that dance was to be given
In the dining room of the tavern
where put up, | was curious to see
how people could make merry while
their country was In state Of anarchy.
When the dancing began l took
chair on the veranda where l could
look through an open window upon the
dancers. The effect was heightened by
the picturesque costumes Of both the
men and the women. The merrymak-
ers came from the country round about,
being made up Of all sorts of persons,
from the haeendado, or farmer, to the
soldier, who made his living by fight
ing for some one Of the factions strug-
Cling for the supremacy. Not only was
the soldier present, but his wife and
his daughters. for an army in Mexico
is accompanied by the families Of the
soldiers.
| was much interested in watching
these people. Among the better grade
| I noticed a young couple who, it was
evident, were lovers. The man was a
handsome fellow dressed IN the cos
| tune of a hacendado, composed of
tight trousers with row Of buttons
ON each leg. where soldiers stripe is
| usually placed; fancy waistcoat and
| short jacket. also having profusion
| OF buttons. The girl wore the Mexi-
| can skirt of many colors, the Mexican
| bodice and the jacket decorated with
| gold braid.
l could not help contrasting the hap
| piness beaming in the faces Of these
| two young people with the cloud that
| hung over their country. They danced
| every dance together. While l was
| watching them man came up behind
me, and ! felt that he was looking
| over my shoulder. / moved aside not
| to obstruct his view and at the same
| time turned my head to have look at
| him.
judged that he was connected with
| one OF the, various armies or bands
| which were sucking the lifeblood of
Mexico. a more villainous face new
er saw on man. His eyes were fol-
lowing the couple that interested me,
and as he watched his frown deep
ened. He stood only a few minutes
looking Mt them. then went away.
At the end of each dance number
Of the dancers came out on to the We
randa to be refreshed by the cooler air
| outside. During one Of these inter-
vals sha"p report suddenly sounded
at the other end Of the veranda. l saw
| those who we're inside start for the
| exit nearest to the point from which
the sound came, and those on the
veranda turned and hurried In that
| direction. /, too, arose and went to see
what had happened.
A crowd had gathered about some
4 -: v,,,t or
beyond the onlookers. When finally
| succeeded in doing so l saw lying on
the floor the young man l had been
| observing within, while the girl with
whom he had danced was kneeling be-
| side him moaning piteously. He had
been shot and was dying.
Within half an hour the dance had
been resumed, and. judging by the gay
| ETY.. one would not have suspected that
| the life Of one of the company had been
| Just snuffed out. l turned away from
| the scene. went as far from it as /
could and waited for the house to be-
come quiet that might go TO bed.
| ! did not get away from the place
the next day. l had come to Mexico
! from curiosity, and l did not like to
move on without learning more Of the
tragedy a part of which l had wit
messed. | inquired who had done the
shooting and was informed that a
man who belonged to Villa force In
| the neighborhood was the culprit. The
| young farmer who was killed was an
| advocate of Huerta. This is all the
| information I could elicit, but l in
| ferred much more. l believed that the
J murderer coveted the girl who had
given her heart to the farmer.
l lounged at the tavern during the
| day. uncertain as to just when l would
move on southwark. During the after
noon, while stroiling among the houses
that composed the place. met the man
who had looked in at the window at
the dancers. I knew him to be the