Towards the close of the year we had become quite domesticated in the
town, and habituated to our new duties: the dullness that ensued upon
the occupation had changed into animation, business, and bustle; the
port was thickening with merchant-ships and coasters, and duties were
rapidly rolling into the Yankee treasury; the merchants themselves had
entered into arrangements with the Mexican officials outside, and the
staple export of the province--logwood--came in on the backs of hundreds
of mules daily, to fill the homeward-bound vessels for Europe. The
laborious task of the garrison still went on, much to the disgust of
Jack, who swore ditching and hod carrying was no part of a sailor's
duty. The fever still continued, in a milder form; but few new cases
ensued, although those who convalesced almost invariably relapsed, and
were never entirely cured until going again upon salt water. The
townspeople began to look less gloomily upon their invaders, and the men
were not averse to finger Uncle Sam's cash; and the women, bless their
sweet, forgiving souls, sought the main plaza in the afternoons, arrayed
in tastefully flowing robes, and graceful _ribosas_, whilst their
surprisingly diminutive feet beat time to the music from our bands. Nor
were they chary of flashing glances, or murmured salutations; and in the
calm nights, when pianos and harps were disturbing the still air, it was
not regarded as a novelty to behold a few blue-jackets, spinning around
in dance and waltz at the fandangos, or, as the more tonnish were
termed, _bayles_.
The native society of Mazatlan cannot certainly boast of a very elevated
tone of morality. Indeed I have good authority for asserting that there
were not fifty legitimately married couples in the town--rather a small
proportion for ten thousand inhabitants: perhaps the marriage formula is
considered a bore, and since even the rite within pale of the church is
not so religiously respected as elsewhere, it appears unreasonable that
they should place any legal check upon their domestic felicity. Still
this system of _relatione_, as so generally practised in Mazatlan,
appeared to work well, and we never heard of lawsuits for children.
Occasionally, it is true, a jealous master would thrust a _cuchillo_
into the tender bosom of his spouse; but what of that--it was _costumbre
del pais_; however, these were the exceptions.
Among the lower orders, the women were invariably gifted with amiable
dispositions, natural in manner, never peevish or petulant, requiring
but little, and never happier than when moving night after night in the
slow measure of their national dances. Even the men were not
bad-tempered, though beyond comparison the laziest and most ignorant set
of vagabonds the world produces. They were a quiet people also, never so
far forgetting their natal sloth, as to go through the exertion of
making a noise. Even their knife encounters were conducted with a
certain show of dignity and decorum. For example, at the _esquina_ of
some street is a group of _leperos_--gentlemen throughout the Republic
of Mexico, enjoying the same moral attributes as Neapolitan
Lazzaroni;--their property at all times on their backs, and residences
precarious; they are playing monte on a coarse blanket or _serapa_ laid
upon the ground; one accuses another of cheating, and at the same time
twits him with the most deadly insult a Spaniard can offer, possibly
because it is so near the truth: _tu eres cornudo_; true or false, his
antagonist calls on all the saints to bear witness to his innocence,
springs to his feet, twists a serapa around the left arm, and, before
one can say Jack Robinson, their keen blades are playing in quick, rapid
passes, seldom giving over until deep and sometimes fatal stabs are
interchanged; but if not seriously hurt they drink a cup of aguadiente
together, light cigarillos, and continue the game until another quarrel
arises. These little passages of arms were of hourly occurrence, and the
severest regulations were not sufficient to repress the evil, although
there never was a solitary instance, during our stay, where a quarrel
had arisen between the townspeople and the garrison. I chanced to be an
eye-witness to one of these street skirmishes one evening, near the
_Sociedad_. A fellow received a perpendicular cut, which severed nearly
half the scalp, and the entire ear, leaving the mass hanging down the
neck, like a flap to a pocket-book; it was properly dressed by a skilful
surgeon, and the man was about again in six days. Indeed the climate was
most efficacious for wounds, and remarkable and most extraordinary cures
were said to be effected; two of a serious nature came under our
observation. The first, a sailor-sergeant, who, while returning from his
rounds, and walking up the Carita hill, not replying to the sentinel's
hail from above, in a sufficiently loud tone of voice, received a
musket-ball in his right breast, which wounded the lung, and passed out
of the back, below the shoulder-blade: the case was aggravated by a
severe and lengthened attack of fever, but the man eventually
recovered, and was entirely restored to health and strength. The second
instance was a young Mexican officer, named Soriano, who was shot by a
rifle-bullet at Urias, transversely through the breast, beneath the
ribs. After suffering some months, under a quack, he was brought to
Mazatlan, where he was successfully treated by one of our surgeons, with
every prospect of speedy recovery.
Of late, we had had no guerrillas worth mentioning, and were amusing
ourselves by drilling a troop of sailors into dragoons; and truly it was
a matter of as much satisfaction as mirth, to see how well the seamen
accomplished their task; of course, it was great sport for them, but
naturally fearless, and all well mounted, they soon were taught to dash
recklessly at anything, from a stone wall to the fire from a battery,
and in due course of time, became, for a sudden burst, quite equal to
any Mexican emergency that chose to stand the brunt of a charge. We
never had the opportunity of testing their cavalryship, but I think they
would have made a creditable report of themselves. They were commanded
by Captain Luigi, and at intervals I had the satisfaction of
accompanying his troop on short excursions into the interior. One night
we took a flying gallop down to Urias. On the way thither, over the
level marismas, the Captain's charger plunged into a hole and the whole
left file vaulted, or trampled, over him, but, as usual, he escaped with
the loss of a little parchment from the visage, while the horse had a
broken shoulder. On nearing the vicinity of our former _escaramuza_, I
passed ahead with four men, and found the prize we sought, in a Mexican
soldier, who proved to be the orderly-sergeant of General Urrea, the
Governor of Durango. Our prisoner was quite taciturn at first, but on
the assurance that he would certainly be hung the following morning,
and after profuse libations of _muscal_--a country liquor--he opened his
mouth and confidence, informing us that he had left an escort at the
Presidio, and when taken was awaiting some effects belonging to his
master, from the port, to be carried to Durango. At daylight, the
articles were seized; but, owing to the fact that some innocent persons
were drawn into the transaction, the Governor good-naturedly signed
passports for the whole party, including the soldier; although his
master, the General, bore no enviable reputation, for the cruelties he
had perpetrated upon American prisoners on the other side of the
continent.