Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-05-07

breathin' the violent tropical scenery.
Wherefore they made them sign con-
tracts for year. when they hired them.
and put an armed guard over the poor
divils to keep them from runnin' away.
"'Twas thus l was double-crossed by
the tropics through a family failin' of
goin' out of the way to hunt disturb
ances.
"They gave me a pick, and I took
it, meditatin an inSurrection on the spot
but there was the guards handlin' the
Winchesters careless, and / come to the
conclusion that discretion was the best
part of flibusterin'. There was about
a hundred of US in the gang startin'
out to work and the word was given to
move | steps out Of the ranks and
goes up 10 that General De Vega man,
who was amokin "a cigar and gain upon
the scene with satisfactions and glory.
He smiles &C me polite and devilish.
Plenty work says he, for big strong
in the month. Good pay. All, yes. You
strong, brave man. Bimeby we push
those railroad In the capital very quick.
They want you go work now. Adios,
strong mans.
" Monseer,' says I, Hngerin', win you
tell a poor little Irishman this: When
| set foot on your cockroachy steamer
and breathed liberal and revolutionary
sentiments into your sour wine, did you
think l was conspirin to sling pick
on your contemptuouS little railroad
And when you answered me with pa
triotic recitations, humping up the star
spangled cause of liberty, did you have
meditations Of reducin' me TO the ranks
of the stump grubbin' Dagoes In the
| chain gangs of your vile and grovelln
c0untryY
"The general man expanded his ro-
tundity and laughed considerable. Yes,
he laughed very long and loud, and l,
Clancy, stood and waited.
"Comical mansl' he shouts at last
! so you viii kill me from the laughing.
Yes; It is hard to find the brave strong
mans to aid my country. Revolutions
/ Did | speak Of r-r-reyolutions? Not one
word. l say, big. strong mans is need
in Guatemala. So. The mistake is or
| you. You have looked In those one box
containing those gun for the guard. You
! think all boxes is contain gun? NO.
There is no war in Guatemala. But
! work. Yes. Good. Thirty dollar In the
month. You shall shoulder one pickax'
senior, and dig for the liberty and pros
perity Of Guatemala. OF to your work
The guard waits for you
Little, fat, poodle dog Of a brown
man. says |, quiet but fun Of indigna-
tons and discOmforts, things shall hap
pen to you. Maybe not right away, but
as soon as J. Clancy can formulate
s0methin' in the way of repartee.
'phe boss of the gang orders us to
work. 1 tramps of with the Dagoes, and
. y
kidnaper laughin' hearty as we go.
"'Tts a sorrowful fact, for eight weeks
1 built railroads for that misbehavin'
country. l ilibustered twelve hours day
with a heavy pick aud a spade chopin
away the luxurious landscape that grew
upon the right OF way. We worked in
swamps that smelled like there was a
( leak in the gas mains, trampin down
fine assortment Of SIC most expensive
I dollhouse plants and vegetables. The
scene was tropical beyond the widest
imagination Of the geography man. The
trees was all sky serapers; the under
/ brush was full Of needles and pins:
there was monkeys tumpin around and
crocodiles and pink-talled mockin' birds,
/ and ye stood knee deep in the rotten
water and grabbed roots for the liberia,
ton of GIutemala. or nights We would
build smudges in camp to discourage the
mosquitoes and sit In the smoke, with
the guaros pacin' on the rOad-mostly
! Dagoes, Niger men, Spanish men and
Swedes. TEree or four were Irish.
zone old man named HallOran--a man
I OF Hibernian entitlements and discre-
1 tlons. explained It TO me. He had been
workin' on the road year. Most o.
them died in less than six months. He
was dried up to gristle and bone and
shook with chills every third night
when you first come. says he. we
( think yen leave right away. But they
hold out your first months pay for
your passage over, and by that time the
tropics has its grip on We. Ye're sur
rounded by a ragin' forest full of dis
reputable beasts-lOns and balloons and
anacondas--waitin' to deyour We. The
/ sun strikes ye hard and melts the mar
row in your bones Ye get similar to
the lettuce eaters the poetry book spea ks
about. Ye forget the elevated sintiments
Of life, such ms patriotism, revenge dis
/ turbance of the peace, and the dacint love
Of n clane shirt. Ee do your work, and
We swallow the kerosene lie and rubber
pipestems dshed up to ye by the Dago
cook for food. Ye light your pipeful
and say to yourself. Mkt week III
break away and ye go to sleep and call
yersilf a liar, for ye know ven never
do it.
"'Who is this general man. asks /,
that calls himself De Vega?
TITS the man. says Halloran, who
Is thryin to complete the tinisbin' Of the
railroad. Twas The project Of a private
corporation, but II busted, and then the
government took Il up De Vegy is a big
politician. and wants to be president
The people want the railroad completed
as they re taxed mighty on account Of It.
The De Vega man is pushin' 1t along
as n campaign move.
"'Tis not my way says /. to make
threats against any man, but there's
an account TO be settled between the
railroad man and James O'DOwd Clancy
a. Twas that way l thought mesilf
( until I got 20 be a lettuce eater. The
faults wild these tropics. They rejuites
a mans system. 'Tis a land. as the poet
says, where It always seems to be after