Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When I awoke again it was still dark, and as I had an uneasy feeling I immediately went to
see the horse again. To my surprise the corral was empty, and striking a match I found that a
place had been opened in the fence. I rushed back to advise the officer and to get my electric
torch and revolver. I shook the officer and told him what had happened, and without losing
time raced back to the empty corral. Thanks to the torch I could see that the heavy dew on
the grass had only recently been disturbed and followed the track, which led towards a sandy
stretch where it was impossible to see any hoofmarks.
I returned to see what the soldiers were doing, and found them all soundly asleep, so I
again shook the officer, who jumped up with a start. He did not remember my having called
him before although he had answered me, but within a few seconds everybody was rushing
through the dark in search of the missing Mancha.
I went with the officer, and he, seeing an early riser sitting at the door of a hut, asked him
if he had seen a horse pass. The man pleaded ignorance, but the officer was not satisfied with
him and threatened to shoot him if he did not speak the truth, and to my surprise he simply
commanded the man to show him the way the horse had gone and to run in front of us, and
when he pointed his gun at him the frightened man almost squealed: '
No estan lejos, ya voy!
'
(They are not far, I'm going).
To give the alarm the officer then fired a few shots into the air, and I believe that this trick
savedthesituation,foraboutaquarterofamileoutofthesettlementwefoundthehorsecom-
ing towards us with a rope around his neck. Our foxy guide then told us that he had seen three
men driving a 'pinto' horse before them, and as he had tried to escape in the direction they
had come from they had roped him, and that even when he was tied he had refused to follow
them. Mancha had always been frightened of a lasso, and this had obviously saved him.
Inrecompenseforhisservicesourguidereceivedanunmercifulkicking,andIamsurethat
he believed it, and was almost grateful, when he was told to consider himself lucky that he
was not going to swing on a tree for not having spoken the truth when he was first asked if he
had seen anything.
We were out of the bad place now and very near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. A large de-
tachment of the Civil Guard had set out to meet us and to extend the first welcome, but some-
how we missed each other through following different trails. In the regions near Tehuantepec
thepeopleareofaverydifferenttype,beingtallerthanthosealongthecoastofChiapas.They
have pleasant features and the women dress in long skirts that reach down to the ankles. They
are very fond of richly embroidering their dresses and usually wear gold or silver necklaces
with many coins on them.
My escort accompanied me as far as the next army post, where they were relieved by new
troops. By more or less following the railroad in the direction of the Pacific we arrived in
Tehuantepec without incident, although numerous bandits held the peasants of the neighbour-
hood in terror. On arrival we were given quarters in the City Hall, an ancient building with
arcades and a big courtyard that was littered with rubbish and filth.
