Year: 1875

The following narrative is from trans
lation of Mexican book. A Captain of
the instlrgent army, during the war of
Mexican independence, is giving an ac-
count of a meditated night attack upon
a hacienda situated in the Cordilleras,
and occupied by large force of Spanish
soldiers. After variety of details, he
continues:


" Having arrived at the hacienda I'M
perceived, thanks for the Obscurity of a
moonless night, we came to a halt under
some large trees at some distance from
the building, and | rode forward from
nv troops, in order to reconnoiter the
place. The hacienda, SO far as l could
see III gliding across, formed a large,
massive parallelogram, strengthened by
enormous buttresses of hewn stone.
Along this chasm the walls of the haci
enda almost formed q continuation Of
another perpendicular one, chiseled by
Nature herself in the rocks, to the bot
tom of which the eye could not pene-
trate, for the mists which necessarily
boiled up from below did not allow it to
measure their awful depths. The place
was known in the country by the name
of The Valadero.


"I had explored all sides of the build
ing except this, when / know not what
scruples of military honor melted me TO
continue my ride along the ravine which
protected the rear of the hacienda. Be
tween the walls and the principal there
was narrow pathway about six feet
wide by day the passage would have
been dangerous, but by night it was q
perilous enterprise. The walls of the
farm took an extensive sweep, the path
crept round their entire basement, and
to follow it to the end i'll the darkness,
only two PAGES from the edge of a per
pendicular chasm, was no very easy task,
even for as practiced a horseman as my
self Nevertheless, l did not hesitate,
but boldly urged my horse between the
walls of the farmhouse and the abyss of
the Valadero. / had got over half the
distance without accident, when, all of a
sudden, my horse neighed aloud. This
neigh made me shudder. l had just
reached pass where the ground was but
wide enough for the four legs of a
horse, and it was impossible to retrace
my steps.


"' Halo :! 1 exclaimed aloud, at the
risk of betraying myself, which was even
less dangerous than encountering horse
man in front of me on such road.
There is a Christian passing along the
ravine. Keep back.


"It was too late. At that moment a
man ON horseback passed around one of
the buttresses which here and there OBJ
structed this accursed pathway. He adj
vanced toward me.


60 For the love of God, can You re-
turn p / exclaimed, terrified Mt the situ-
alton in which we were both placed.


g" Impossible = replied the horseman.
/ recommended my soul to God. To turn
our horses round for want of room, to
back them along the path we had travelled,
or even to dismount from them-these
were three impossibilities, which placed
us both in the presence of fearful doom.
Between two horsemen so placed upon
this fearful path, had they been father
and son, one of them must inevitably
have become the prey of the abyss. But
few seconds had passed, and we were
already face TO face-the unknown and
myself. Our horses were head to head,
and their nostrils, dilated with terror,
mingled together their fiery breathing.
Both of us halted in dead silence.
Above was the smooth and lofty wall OF
the hacienda on the other side, but
! three feet distant from the wall, opened
the horrible gulf. Was it an enemy
had before my eyes The love Of my
country, which boiled at that period III
my young bosom, led me to hope it was.


Are you for Mexico and the lnsur-
gents z" exclaimed in a moment OF ex-
element, ready to spring upon the un.
known horseman, if he answered in the
negative.


"' Merico Bpsurgente that is my