Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-10
CHAPTER VIII
4 Rirpr Inferludp

" river steamer Barcelona toiling slowly
up the turhid waters of the Magdalena. sat
the usual throng of passengers who are com
velled TO sacrifice two weeks of their lives
every time they travel from the seacoast to
colombia's mountain capital Fortunate such
travellers count themselves IL their lumber
ing fat-bottomed craft, its huge stern wheel
lifted high above the down-rushing eddies
and whirlpools. escapes the treacherous mud
banks which form and dissolve in this ever
shifting. shallow current, and which not In
frequently elude the vigilance Of the navi-
gator.
On this particular voyage. however, Il is
pleasant to record that the Barcelona. in
spite of various temptations to the contrary.
had behaved in most decorouS manner.
automatically avoiding the aforesaid mud
banks submerged tree trunks and the like
and giving promise of early arrival at
her destination in the Upper Magda lena.
In Any part of the world except Colombia
the progress of this steamer up the river
On this Casion would have been followed
with the liveliest interest from one end of
the country to the other. News bulletins
would have Chroniced every detail Of her
voyage; there would have been editorial
speculation as to the possible delays she
might encounter; predictions of the outcome
of her snail-paced journey and, finally. state
ments-bogus or otherwise-would have come
every now and then from the important per-
sonage who headed the list Of the BARGE
lDDaS passengers. FOR IneTe was an un-
happily important parsonage boarda
personage who. much to his amaze
ment, had helped in the making of history.
and who was now on his way to report to
the President of the Republic the details
of what he had done
Some men, according to one familiar with
the accidents common to humanity. have
greatness thrust upon them. General Her
ran was neither born great nor had he. of
his own free will. achieved greatness. But
it had been thrust upon him. Without thought
or act Of his own he awoke one morning to
find himself famous. 1t was. an unenviabe
kind of fame. won in opera-bouffe sort
of way and might, in some countries. have
cost the gentleman his head But in Co
lombia there was, happily, no danger of this.
Having lost his head once, why should he
lose it a second time, and just because he
had fallen victim to the wiles of the
Panamanos?
Here Is the brief but important chapter of
history in which General Herran played
leading part. In the performance of his duty
to auell any and every uprising which might
occur on the Colombian coast he had gone
with his army to the Isthmus. where. he had
been told, something like revolution was in
progress At Colon he had been courteouslY
met on shipboard by representatives of this
revolution.
On their friendly invitation and without
d,sembarking his troops, he and his staff of
officers had then been escorted politely across
the Isthmus to Panama. where much to their
astonishment, they were promptly landed in
iail--a climax which any one but this unsus-
Meeting general might have foreseen. During
hi. absence his troops We're sent back by the
ravolItionists TO Colombia-and thus. without
the firing Of a shot. the republic of Panama
achieved its independence.
On board the Barcelona, freed from the
problem of keeping the lsthmians within the
colombian Union. General Herran gave no
evidence of any disastrous effect on his own
fortunes following his memorable experience
of Panama diplomacy The center of a con-
yiyial group of admiring friends, fanked by
an inexhaustible supply of La Cosa Sab
rosa,-the suggestive title given by one en-
thusiast to the native rum which accompan MED
Them in an endless array of demijohns-this
axcelIent leader of armies appeared to be
making a triumphal progress homeward,
rather than a decidedly gnominious retreat
His large. mirthful brown eyes, peerng out
~ a boyish face fringed by a heavy black
heard. were undimmed by regrets. and gave
no token OF the willy, self-seeking politician
their possessor was said by his enemies to be-
"El General as he usually called was
IN fact the best of good fellows one who we
can well imagine, might easily forget so
naltry an adjunct as his troops. lured bv tht.
nromise of lively hour or so in a gay city
with congenal companions. "Bobo" his de-
tractors might call him, or 'tonto"-but
never 'pendcpO' nor traitor"
CONTINUED TOMORROW