Arizona republican., 1922-03-16

in which to live for little while, he
said. He had been there three years.
There We're few desperate characters
there. Some were murderers. but
most of the 800 were sneak thieves
from Mexico City. They were sent
here to get them out of the way
Recent arrivals are those who have
been stealing express parcels from the
trains.
'In Mexico" said Antonio thought :
fully, 1.-The really bad men are shot /"
From time to time Antonio thrust
upon us specimens of the shell work
the convicts make. With all the
time there is at their disposal. for on
the Tres Marias the only work done
is a little farming and little road
making, the thieves and robbers en-
ploy their time in making trinkets OF
the turtle shell that abounds for
those who have the time or the lib
erty to catch the turtle. But those
offered us were really not worth buy
ing. At last / heard Antonio convey
ing in a tone of deep conviction his
belief that we were a pair of cabras,
which are goats, which is a Mexican
term of high insult.
BE off with you, Antonio" said a
guard.
SO we did not learn Antonio's un-
questionably interesting past Nor
did we linger long on the Tres Marias.
There are no amusements. One can
sit in the sun and broil or sit in the
shade and stew. The white washed,
latticed barracks were sordid, al
though clean.
The commandant's parrot talks
only Spanish. The half hundred or
so convicts who followed us about
seemed no different from the Indians
elsewhere.
In the open waters Of the little
roadstead multitude of sharks play
about. Their triangular fins may be
seen anywhere. Once there was a
shark fishing industry here, operated
by an American, for it seems that the
shark is an intensive usable crea-
ture. His fins are a Chinese delicacy,
his teeth are worked up into orna-
ments, his hide makes highly priced
leather, and what is left is turned
into a valuable fertilizer. But the
American died and no one else has
had the courage TO maroon hsHlself
in these sweltering tropics to renew
the dead mans enterprise.
At certain seasons of the year
fishers come to take the turtles which
come for thousands of leagues to lay
their eggs in the sands. Turtle fish
ing is easy and it pays. One but has
to get UP in the morning, which every
one here does anyhow, because only
the morning hours are endurable dur
ing the hot term-and run down to
the beach, catch his turtle, turn him
on his helpless back. and then wait
for the boats to come and get him.
Porpoises by the Square Mile
At all seasons there are more por-
poises than one could believe possible
They sport about literally by the
square mile, floundering into the air
and splashing back, or undulating in
innumerable dives. But no one
catches porpoises. Why, no one
knows, for they. too. have a real
value.
So we went back to the Nameless,
which was baking its long dry seams
in the glowing heat of this midwinter
day, to find Jimmy, the Indian cook,
patting his tortillas and Hospitality
adding more chilli 10 the mess of sun
dried meat he proposed to feed the
gringos. BY and by the captain came
| aboard with his papers and our small
Indian boy gave over his attempt TO
spear the fish that could be seen
lazily waving on the white sand of
the bottom and ran to watch the
Indian engineer start the motor. The
dugout which served as lifeboat and
| dinky was hauled aboard, Jimmy Dip
ped a bucket of sea water from over
board in which to wash the dinner
dishes, the guard at the pier waved
his machete in salute and we were
off.
From the shore Antonio, the man of
mystery, made a gesture of farewell.