The Mankato free press., 1921-03-11

lives once during revolution and
the son working here was hung, but
was cut down before dead. At CO.
lumbia / noticed he talked with all
but two or three soldiers who were
guarding the station. (Ail trains are
held up today by strikes). Whenwe
got away he told me the captain of
the guard was one Of the leaders
who raided him last August, but was
shot by the government. 1t seems
| that when the leader Of band is
some big man they give him a com
mission tc get him on the other
side. The bandits and revolution
lists Of two years ago won the cleo
tion this year, so they and Their
friends hold offices OF the present
government.
Nest o. Bandits.
Three miles west OF COLUMBIA to-
day is nest of bandits, and also
three miles east Is another nest and
headquarters. For this reason the
government soldiers were in Colum- :
bia in charge of the railroad station.
At the Columbia ranch, high up over
looking Columbia, you can see some
forty miles south and east. In the
distance is Mr. Patterson's land "
ing along the river and lagoon which
parallels the river. In the fore
ground you can see where the rail-
road train was blown up and tracks
torn up during the revolution.
81 wish you could have eaten DIN
ner with me today. ] had tortliias,
fat cake made OF corn pounded
!up, baked on stone or iron stoves,
NO salt or anything else in it, black
coffee (some coffee), fried potatoes,
but fried in some stuff you do not
luse. a dish that looked like greens
and eggs mixed. I asked Smith anu
he said it was eggs and cactus l1e
81 took a few bites but it tasted like
everything except the barbs: Iney
get their water from the roofs wnlcn
are iron and the dew most nights iaiis
so heavy that big stream runs ata nv
ttho cistern which is built OF concrete.
Near my land there was once mouse
which had a cement cellar. The house
Ia gone and the cellar is full OF water:
Two mountain tigers, which run WHO
around here, cougar and seVerai
other animals have fallen into the wa
: ter. Ill, ho
Tomorrow several men will be
here to 60 tiger hunting. Thelr nors-
es came today. | go tonight to Tam
pico and if possible embark for Mex
! leo City in the morning.
! Bandits Headquarters On Land.
"By the way on the table today
there was no knife or fork. They use
only their hands and spoon. They
have a cute baby of six months, and
/ got snap shots of the whole family
! ON nv land on this hill was bandit
! Headquarters last year. During that
j time Smith and his tenants moved as
everything worth taking was stolen py
in national affairs, was murdered al
Columbia, and Smith and his family
burned him in the cemetery that
passed this morning.
"At the ranch they have a novel
thermometer made of a long bottle
filled with kerosene and beef lard and
fat. When a storm is coming the beer
fat mixes with the kerosene in the
bottle, and when the weather is clear
the fat settles at the bottom of the
bottle and the kerosene above.
/ Smith says the bottle has hung
there for fifteen years. The oven for
bread when they bake is like a big
bee hive, about two feet high and
FIVE feet in diameter. They fill II
with brush until 1t gets hot and TAX
ing this out they put in the bread
meath the house. There is a small
hole on the side where they let the
chickens out. (Do not know how
they get it?) Smith gave me some
| CarranZa money, which when printed
was distributed around and everyone
was made to give up their other mon
ey. Smith said at first 1t was al
right, but afterwards was worth no.
thing. He went from Laredo to Tam
pico and it cost twenty four dollars
of the regular fare about twenty four
| R,ek A. Tambtco
"Tampico, February 26.-Well here
am again. Last night Smith drove
me to Colonia station, and one and a
half miles from the ranch the train
came along one hour late at nine -thir-
ty. We tagged it with an old lantern
and they stopped, but we found II
was freight car and engine, and tke
had only one cylinder. so was running
on one side. After quite talk they
let me on. One side was filed with
poems and on the. other side were
three men. 1t was dark and some one
said: sit down / could not see the
men and had considerable money with
me, but finally sat down. We got tc
the gulf. Here / had to get out and
wait for an interurban to get to the
city and i arrived at a hotel just al
midnight. This morning have
been with quite a character, he is
from the states and has been working
in the oil fields for several months
He, too, is going to Mexico City to.
night if trains are running at that
time. He is large and of a fine ply
sique, and used to be in the ring
boxing, etc. He is going back TO the
states to practice up and then come
back and put on a big fight in the
new bull ring just completed here
This ring is very large and holds IT,
900 people and has new roof He
has studied under Jeffreys. the big
prize fighter
), "The train will leave at seven d. m
if 1t goes at all tonight, but one can
not get ticket or Pullman until si1
p. m, and then must go with the hero
! and stand in line. / won't buy a thing
in Tampico as evrything is so high
milk Is ninety cents a quart; shines
twenty five cents; rooms in hotels are
ten and fifteen dollars day.
!, Bic Eruption At Victoria.
Papers just out telling of a big
eruption at Victoria. This station is
a hundred miles above here and is
the one We passed through the other
day. The train / was expecting tc
come into Tampico on last night from
Colonia where was, was stopped al
Victoria and net allowed to pass the
electric light plants were seized, and