Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1886 — DON JUAN'S BRAVERY [ARTICLE]

DON JUAN'S BRAVERY

BY E. B. W.

The railroad was not completed when we left Paso del Norte via. the.JMexican €en, tial foi the City of Ihiriuiga, It was early in December, a day of unclouded siinshine, of clear blue skies, of brisk, bracing atmosphere; and as we sped on toward Chihuahua. thoroughly comfortable in our firstelass carriage, we - regrettedthe hbebssity of ehanging out swift conveyance nt Villa Lerdo for the lumbering old diligeucia. The scenery was monotonous, it is true, but we were in a strange country, and even skies And sun ..appeared to have gained some new and marvelous charm: for we •were under the blue sky which arches over the old romantic country of the Aztecs-—the Mexico upon which Cortez, and his legion gazed from the lofty hills above the noble capital—the seat of an ancient civilization, the Mexico of which the Mexicans boast as "La tierra de Diosgde-Libcrtad. n The air was so mild that we sat out on - th« <datforaasevvFrt). hoiws, aomething worthy of our attention as we ■went over the level road between the low ■ana hills farther and farther into the old Republic. Our party consisted of only throe men—one a young Englishman, but so well veised in manners Ameiicm and Mexican as to be thoroughly cosmopolitan. He represented a prominent Chicago firm and was now visiting Durango in the interest of his firm —of which, by the way. he was junior partner. Speaking Spanish fluently, and having a large acquaintance in ahiiost every xwrt of the Republic, from the Pacific to the Gulf, nothing could surpass the spirit and vim ofhis conversation; nor did it seem possible to add anything to his knowledge of things Mexican —indeed, of matters in general. The second member of our party. was another Englishman, the s]>ecial eor" respondent of several Northern and Western papers, who was “doing" Mexico in the interest of his employers and his own purse. Knowing nothing of any tongue but his own plain roast-beef English, he relied almost entirely upon his compatriot, w hom we called Don Julio; the “special"'being Don Eurique, and I, the third member, being merely intent on pleasure and . ud-, venture, rejoiced in my own plain cognomen. As evening approached we saw before us ths lights of the city and rejoiced at the pleasant prospect; for we had decided to ■top over until the next morning in the old city of Chihuahua. Accordingly, just as the cleaf sbuTherh moon shone gloriously bright in the deep blue Mexican skies, we de•cended at tho station, took our seats in the •mnibus and were whirled through the long narrow streets to the Hotel de los Estados I'nidos. An excellent repast was discussed, and we hastened to the Plaza de la-Oohstitucion just opposite, from which already issued the sweet strains of the National Anthem. All Chihuahua was out in force; indeed, •übsequent wanderings through other portions of the country pioved to us that the Plaza is the one place where the youth and beauty of Mexican cities most do congregate. Don Eurique and I were unknown, therefore our progress was never checked by friends eager to bid us welcome; but. cigar in mouth, in sturdy, insular silence, we followed the stream and made iniftimerable ■evolutions of the diminutive Plaza. Not so Don Julio; his acquaintances with dark-eyed. Senoritas and gay“young Senores was extensive, so we had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing his desertion of us for the far pleasanter society of his youthful friends. We, how ever, with a stoicism to be envied, pursued the even tenor of our way, beguiling the time by expatiating on the beauties of the scene; turning our eyes from those fair, unknown faces to the stars shining in the upper blue; trying to satisfy ourselves with the enchanting strains of the superbly trained band, since fate vouchsafed us no melodious greetings in the soft Southern tongue from fair Southern lips. The season was winter, the month December, but it Was the winter of Mexico, the clear, sparkling climate of the South. The silver tinkle of the fountain sounded musically through the pauses between the •rchestral numbers. To our right rose the. ■erved and stately walls of la iglesia mayor —the oldest and noblest specimen of religiqui architecture in North America, the splendid masterpiece of Cristoval de Villa—now darkly outlined against the Starlit radiance of the blue winter night. In the early morning, while yet, the good people of Chihuahua reposed in what we will hope was peaceful sleep, we were on the train bound for Lerdo. Don Julio ■nd I chatted "and smoked, while the ■pecial made notes and yawned; breaking out now and then into unmitigated expressions of disgust at the monotony of the •cenery, and the dearth of msderiai for his facile pen. If the people who read his correspondence yakned half as much over bis letters as he did in writing them, it was a clear case of retributive justice. j Ofir stay at Lpndo / was short; indeed, only long enough of Don Julio’s paying a. visit '*b an old acquaintance who ihowted his friendship for that young man by accompanying us to the etage,followed by a servant* laden with a huge hamper of wine and delicately-prepared edibles for our consumption during ouy fifty-two hours of staging over mountainous roads and through dreary valleys. Once in the diligencia, we examined critically the aspect of our traveling companions—four only beside ourselves; three Mexicans with whom Don Julio was hail fellow well met at once, and one American—a short, stout man,whose red face and sandy hair looked particularly comical by the side of the dark-eyed, swarthy Mexicans. This individual, whom we immediately dubbed Don Juan on account of the utter incongruity *of the title,-we learned in a very little while was on his way to Durango City to join an old friend in the purchase of an extensive ranche. There was something irresistibly comical in the idea of this antiquated Western fanner's venturing so far from his native Ohio into a strange country, of whose language he knew nothing, of whose manners little more. ? He ■oon rendered himself obnoxious to

fastidious Don Julio by helping himself, mi nvited, to the liver-wing of a particn* lutiy savory chicken in I hat young gentleman's lunch-basket. With the utmost politeness our companion immediately pressed niton Ihm-JuMV die various tid-biis ho kindly provided by Don Cjrlos Michaud. But as our sturdy farm* r stuck his j o ket-knife with appreciative impartiality into one dainty after another, helping himself with equal freedom to a bottle of Veuve Clicquot's delicious wine, Don Julio could stpnl it no longer, but - subsided into gloomy silence. We stopped at a rancho for dinner, but while we uesconded Don Juan remained iu the diligencia, preferring chicken ana cham- . pauue gratis to the frijoles and tortillas with which we were regaled nt a most reasonable charge. „ '"xyr Conversation hobbled along on crutches for the next hour or so; but at lost Don Julio roused himself and nskeda question of one of onr Mexican companions which sent the todtly-btio froni Don Juan's face in a twinkling.- . “ Tbft Jpupg JliftU .adiJreßsed,Bjtoke EngHsh and replied-with a fluency which left no doubt in otir minds ns to the accuracy of his in form lit iop. At the same time a flush of int<dligence answered the silent question of Don Julio's gay bln u eyes. ' “Brigands?" be said, slowly, “Of course, the road is frequented by them. You see, Senor, travelers by this route generally carry large sums of money with them, and the gay Caballeros know it well." “Any trouble lately, amigo?” went on Don J uliQ»jttirel.ej<sJy. “Not since last month, and then it was little or nothing—only 'one man kiHed and two wonpdeil. llutttwto," with a shrug of his shoulders and 11 half smile, “they were onlytiringos.” “Of course, that made a difference,” said onr companion, gravely, not a muscle of his face twitching, although he saw plainly the ngonv depicted on Don Juan's countenance. • “By the way, Eurique, you had better look over your pistols; I suppose they are in good* condition,"'and with ostentatious carelessness he removed his pwn cartridge belt, examined his own two sixshooters and gave additional polish to the richly-carved handle of a gleaming dagger, which, to my certain knowledge, he had picked up in an old curiosity shop ip New York. But Don Julio believed in local coloring and always out-Heroded Herod even i -iu tbe- tnosWrivtob-mnttoiwEnrique-fol - lowed suit, touching, with fingers more used to the pen, his handsome revolver, returning it to his belt with a sigh of relief. “I suppose you have a weajxm of some kind?” asked Don Julio of the unhappy farmer, whose wretched expression showed that he longed for the security of his native State. “I—l—no, indeed; I never dreamt that I should have any use for such a thing,” he stammered. . “Dear, dear, what a pity! Why, don’t ' yfttt knowlhat vou have the most’dangertmi! pan or the canntiyta pass - niratigh just about dusk? Eurique, do have pity upon a fellow-mortal in distress—can't you? Welliriiever mind. Here, Don Juan, take this; I have two revolvers and I feel sure that we shall need them before nightJ I suppose you know how to use it? Thaps all right, don't trouble about thanks—Xis well to do so much for cbaritv ” / Of course the conversation turned wholly upon brigands and midnight adventuyes.un - til only the weight of,Pon Juan’sJiat kept his ruddy hair from rising upright like the quills upon the fretful porcupine. His face became more and more 7 pallid and *>**'♦ ***< y»*p AT-AO l<*W»r»XSW* vit -iiio “j “D JU! ; xtuu TrxrtrxTxx“r, until out of pure compassion Don Julio, changed the subject, proclnced his cigar ease, and signified his intention of adjourning for a while to a seayoutside with the driver and his mozo. / The shadows of the Winter evening began toTaH. hiding from our sight the dark line of hills and rend/ring the whole landscape blurred and indistinct. Under the influence of the winter quiet and the drowsy murmur of/ languid voices, Don Juan relinquished uis hold on the precious revolver and slumbered audibly. The rest of us were talking in- subdued tones when Don Julio returm/l and w ith a rapid glance took in the situation; with deft fingers he removed the changes from Don Juan’s revolver and replaced the weapon close to the nerveless hand/ then resumed_his cigar and his gay nonsense. • We were injfcie midst of the dark hills, the cold winter skies above us only faintly illumined by lhe rays of the half-obscured moon; the night was very still, so still that Don Juan's sonorous slumbers filled the silence noy,'too musically for fastidious ears—when—a sudden shock brought us all to our feey the diligencia stopped and the excited voices of the driver and mozo filled the air. / “Bobbers! murderers!"—bang! bang!— u Deja la! deja la! Lavdntan las manos! lavantaHilas manos!"— such were the sounds which seyt tne hue of health from the cheeks df the long-suffering Don Juan and left them pale with the" pallor of mortal terror. Cowering in a corner, his hands refusing to perform their office, the cherished revolver dropped in abject fear, he was certainly a pitiable object. The rest of us, meanwhile, were. blazing away, filling the air with the sharp report of our pistols and the confused din of our stentorian voices. At last the battle was over, the mozo appeared at the door and assured us that we might proceed in safety, since the robbers had taken their departure; but Don Julio sallied forth to inspect the field of action and to report the number of the dead and wounded. He returned in a little while, rubbing his hands with glee and shaking poor Don Juan’s trembling fingers heartily. “We’re all right, old fellow, thanks to your spirit, your intrepid, valor. Look here, Eurique, every chamber empty—l tell you the brave old boy knows how to fight. No showing the white feather here! Here’s to 4he health of our gallant comrade in the last bottle of Don Carlos’ wine! What do you think of the Gringos, now, amigo mto?* Here’s so you, old man! Three cheers for Don Juan!” Of course, we all joined in, and by the time onr flattered companiou had drained a bumper and had been patted on the back by one after the other of us in .succession, the color returned to his face and he sat up in a state of satisfied rapture, thoroughly convinced that he was the bravest American that had ever ventured across the Rio Grande.” He then began to , tell longwinded stories of valorous deeds performed in his youth with a rusty firelock, until we •hanged his name to Don Bombasto and fell asleep. A heavy rain came upon us in the early morping and the air was soon foggy enough Uo remind Don Julio of his native England. 'But toward noon the sun came out and restored nature and ourselves to a pleasanter state. l Don Juan still continued valorous; he hipd reloaded his revolver and sat up in an attitude of minified scorn ’and defianoey longing for a chance to again show his courage and save our lives. Towards evening he followed Don Julio’s example and. pistol in hand, retired to the elevated seat longed for the end of our journey." ' At about the same hour as on the previous day. the report of a pistol startled us, rousing us most effectually from our attempted slumbers. “What Son earth is the old simpleton doing now?” asked Don Julio as he started to his feet and hurried to thfe door. -■ The stage

stopped, and we hastened out to learn thi cause of the disturbance. * Don J uan soon satisfied us. He hnd almost fallen asleep when, through the gathering darkness", he observed two horH< met adraficiiig under cover of the night. Action, was as natural to hiui as thought; in a moment he had fired nt his assailants, and by his promptness and foresight hhd ddubtlesr saved the lives of his companions. Don Eurique.and the rest of us immediately set out in search of tire killed—but nothing rewarded oiir careful examination, except that in th« far distance the clumsy forms of two small burros were perceptible in the light of the noon.. The - piysten was explnmeil; here was a nineteenth ceptury version of Don Quixote's battle with tho wind nulls. , Don Julio gave a concise statement of the affair to his valiant companion. “Alss, poor brave Dun Juan! what have you done? I greatly fear you are undone!”' New terror bl'ftnctied the fat old face. “Wanton earth. r is the matter now?” he ejaculated in consternation. “A'o’ir valor, your courage and invincible spirit have saved us/but nt what a cost to yourself! In the forms of those seeming robbers I recognized two old citizens oi Durango returning to their hacienda. One was a distinguished lawyer, the other his son, a proniisin'g physician—whut will become of you, my poor friend?” “Become of tne!,, Why. I thought they were robbers like those of Inst night.” “Quite a natural mistake, too. Unfortu* nately, you have killed two harmless gentlepien; and the law is strict—hoiribly strict.” -• ; “Yes, my poor fellow,” put in Eurique, “you’re apt to findyourself in a bad fix when you reach Durango. Um awfully sorry for -you.” “I’ll give you of the only En-' glish-speaking lawyer in the city,” said Don Julio., “If it is possible toescape, he’ll see you through. He may manage to smooth matter’s over to the Governor.” Witlr difficulty we conveyed the limp form of Don Juan-back to the diligencia] he was white with terror and absolutely speechless, only able to roll his eyes with earnest appeal in their anguished stare—the picture of misery. Late that night we reached Durango and at ohce hastened to a hotel, hoping to find a comfortable room and good supper aftei the hardship of two days On the stage. With curly morning -Don—Juan"accosted' Julio, begging that youth to be his intercessor with the Governor; preferring to throw himself at once upon executive clemency to seeking the assistance of lawyers. Don Julio, however, begged in turn to be excused—he was far to busy then, but later he would do himself the honor ol calling upon his good friend Dott 'Franciso Palacios, and would then ask that mercy shoulcl be shown an unfortunate American/ Don Jrfan then asked Eurique to accompany him; but that accomplished gentloiuaji was up to his eyes in ink and -paperywriting five specials at once with scarcely the difference of a c,omnia, or a period. Of course he declined, which I did through not knowing Spanish. Accordingly, with the courage of despair Don Juan wended his way alone to the gubernatorial mansion, returning at din-ner-time with an air of "glee which cojjepletely banished the misery of his morning's expression. ‘ We were smoking in the office when he returned, Iris countenance wreathed, in smiles. “Don't talk to me about Mexican injustiee ftgam," he begou, —ttXk’hy, nothing could have been nicer than the Governor's manner to me. He understands English perfectly and speaks well enough to satisfy me, at any rate.’’ “So you actually bearded the.lion in his den.” said Eurique. “Tell us all about it, ordTeTtow. = — “None of you would go with me,-so I went alone. I’m an American, you know, anjl I believe in republics—you pobr boys are English and only know of freedom through hearsay. Well, I> went to the Governor's mansion, and after waiting some time was shown into his private office. He may be a Mexican, but he is certainly a gentleman. " I told him" all abouT~everything and im~ pressed upon him the fact that I was trying to save the lives of you boys”— and Julio exchanged grins: there was something so comical in the self-complacency of the speaker. “And what do you suppose he said?” “Can’t gue'ss.” “WelL.be rose, straightened himself, and said: ‘Senoi, I am Governor of this province, and Americans and other foreigners traveling in this country shall be protected so long as the arm of the law.haspower to reach offenders-. You did perfectly right, Senor, to save the liyes’of your friends. You are a brave man —I adore bravery—give me your hand.’” “Great heavens, what a mess!” This from Julio and Eurique together. “Yes, sir; and he immediately sent to the barracks‘and ordered that a detachment of soldiers should leave at once to bidng in the dead and wounded, and to scour the country in purspit of the villains who escaped.” Julio laughed—a long,loud laugh in Which we all joined. “What a'glorious April in December, old fellow! Don”t you" know, that it was all a joke? that no one attacked us, and that you wasted your powder on two harmless, inoffensive burros?" But Don Juan was not to be, convinced. He was a hero in his own eyes, a brave man in the eyes of the Governor—not quite So willingly would lie uncrown himself. To this day, I doubt not that he believes in himself and in his heroism, and will "transmit to his posterity an account of his valorous deeds in Mexico as an instance of how a brave American is regarded even in a country once so antagonistic to America and things American. Julio, meanwhile, set off for the mansion, arriving just in time to explain matters and to enable the Governors© countermand the order. The noble old gentleman looked very stern, made a few sharp remarks about the danger of indulging in such practical jokes; then, possibly overcome' by the remembrance of Don Juan’s complacent face and bearing, broke into a hearty laugh and invited the young man to dine with him.