description; a mere log hut, consisting of one room, that served as
kitchen, sitting-room, and bedchamber. The door of rough planks swung
heavily upon two hooks that fitted into iron rings, and formed a clumsy
substitute for hinges; a wooden latch and heavy bar served to secure it;
windows, properly speaking, there were none, but in their stead a few
holes covered with dirty oiled paper; the floor was of clay, stamped
hard and dry in the middle of the hut, but out of which, at the sides of
the room, a crop of rank grass was growing, a foot or more high. In one
corner stood a clumsy bedstead, in another a sort of table or counter,
on which were half a dozen drinking glasses of various sizes and
patterns. The table consisted of four thick posts, firmly planted in the
ground, and on which were nailed three boards that had apparently
belonged to some chest or case, for they were partly painted, and there
was a date, and the three first letters of a word upon one of them. A
shelf fixed against the side of the hut supported an earthen pot or two,
and three or four bottles, uncorked, and apparently empty; and from some
wooden pegs wedged in between the logs, hung suspended a few articles of
wearing apparel of no very cleanly aspect.
Pacing up and down the hut with a kind of stealthy cat-like pace, was an
individual, whose unprepossessing exterior was in good keeping with the
wretched appearance of this Texian shebeen house. He was an undersized,
stooping figure, red-haired, large mouthed, and possessed of small,
reddish, pig's eyes, which he seemed totally unable to raise from the
ground, and the lowering, hang-dog expression of which, corresponded
fully with the treacherous, panther-like stealthiness of his step and
movements. Without greeting us either by word or look, this personage
dived into a dark corner of his tenement, brought out a full bottle, and
placing it on the table beside the glasses, resumed the monotonous sort
of exercise in which he had been indulging on our entrance.
My guide and deliverer said nothing while the tavern-keeper was getting
out the bottle, although he seemed to watch all his movements with a
keen and suspicious eye. He now filled a large glass of spirits, and
tossed it off at a single draught. When he had done this, he spoke for
the first time.
"Johnny!"
Johnny made no answer.
"This gentleman has eaten nothing for four days."
"Indeed," replied Johnny, without looking up, or intermitting his
sneaking, restless walk from one corner of the room to the other.
"I said four days, d'ye hear? Four days. Bring him tea immediately,
strong tea, and then make some good beef soup. The tea must be ready
directly, the soup in an hour at farthest, d'ye understand? And then I
want some whisky for myself, and a beefsteak and potatoes. Now, tell all
that to your Sambo."
Johnny did not seem to hear, but continued his walk, creeping along with
noiseless step, and each time that he turned, giving a sort of spring
like a cat or a panther.
"I've money, Johnny," said my guide. "Money, man, d'ye hear?" And so
saying, he produced a tolerably full purse.
For the first time Johnny raised his head, gave an indefinable sort of
glance at the purse, and then springing forward, fixed his small,
cunning eyes upon those of my guide, while a smile of strange meaning
spread over his repulsive features.
The two men stood for the space of a minute, staring at each other,
without uttering a word. An infernal grin distended Johnny's coarse
mouth from ear to ear. My guide seemed to gasp for breath.
"I've money," cried he at last, striking the but of his rifle violently
on the ground. "D'ye understand, Johnny? Money; and a rifle too, if
needs be."
He stepped to the table and filled another glass of raw spirits, which
disappeared like the preceding one. While he drank, Johnny stole out of
the room so softly that my companion was only made aware of his
departure by the noise of the wooden latch. He then came up to me, took
me in his arms without saying a word, and, carrying me to the bed, laid
me gently down upon it.
"You make yourself at home," snarled Johnny, who just then came in
again.
"Always do that, I reckon, when I'm in a tavern," answered my guide,
quietly pouring out and swallowing another glassful. "The gentleman
shall have your bed to-day. You and Sambo may sleep in the pigsty. You
have none though, I believe?"
"Bob!" screamed Johnny furiously.
"That's my name--Bob Rock."
"For the present," hissed Johnny, with a sneer.
"The same as yours is Johnny Down," replied Bob in the same tone. "Pooh!
Johnny, guess we know one another?"
"Rayther calkilate we do," replied Johnny through his teeth.
"And have done many a day," laughed Bob. "You're the famous Bob from
Sodoma in Georgia?"
"Sodoma in Alabama, Johnny. Sodoma lies in Alabama," said Bob, filling
another glass. "Don't you know that yet, you who were above a year in
Columbus, doin' all sorts of dirty work?"
"Better hold your tongue, Bob," said Johnny, with a dangerous look at
me.
"Pooh! Don't mind him, he won't talk, I'll answer for it. He's lost the
taste for chatterin' in the Jacinto prairie. But Sodoma," continued Bob,
"is in Alabama, man! Columbus in Georgia! They are parted by the
Chatahoochie. Ah! that was a jolly life we led on the Chatahoochie. But
nothin' lasts in this world, as my old schoolmaster used to say. Pooh!
They've druv the Injuns a step further over the Mississippi now. But it
was a glorious life--warn't it?"
Again he filled his glass and drank.
The information I gathered from this conversation as to the previous
life and habits of these two men, had nothing in it very satisfactory or
reassuring for me. In the whole of the south-western states there was no
place that could boast of being the resort of so many outlaws and bad
characters as the town of Sodoma. It is situated, or was situated, at
least, a few years previously to the time I speak of, in Alabama, on
Indian ground, and was the harbour of refuge for all the murderers and
outcasts from the western and south-western parts of the Union. Here,
under Indian government, they found shelter and security; and frightful
were the crimes and cruelties perpetrated at this place. Scarcely a day
passed without an assassination, not secretly committed but in broad
sunlight. Bands of these wretches, armed with knives and rifles, used to
cross the Chatahoochie, and make inroads into Columbus; break into
houses, rob, murder, ill-treat women, and then return in triumph to
their dens, laden with booty, and laughing at the laws. It was useless
to think of pursuing them, or of obtaining justice, for they were on
Indian territory; and many of the chiefs were in league with them. At
length General Jackson and the government took it up. The Indians were
driven over the Mississippi, the outlaws and murderers fled, Sodoma
itself disappeared; and, released from its troublesome neighbours,
Columbus is now as flourishing a state as any in the west.
The recollections of their former life and exploits seemed highly
interesting to the two comrades; and their communications became more
and more confidential. Johnny filled himself a glass, and the
conversation soon increased in animation. I could understand little of
what they said, for they spoke a sort of thieves' jargon. After a time,
their voices sounded as a confused hum in my ears, the objects in the
room became gradually less distinct, and I fell asleep.
I was roused, not very gently, by a mulatto woman, who poured a spoonful
of tea into my mouth before I had well opened my eyes. She at first did
not appear to be attending to me with any great degree of good-will; but
by the time she had given me half a dozen spoonsful her womanly
sympathies began to be awakened, and her manner became kinder. The tea
did me an infinite deal of good, and seemed to infuse new life into my
veins. I finished the cup, and the mulatto laid me down again on my
pillow with far more gentleness than she had lifted me up.
"Gor! Gor!" cried she, "what poor young man! Berry weak. Him soon
better. One hour, massa, good soup."
"Soup! What do you want with soup?" grumbled Johnny.
"Him take soup. I cook it," screamed the woman.
"Worse for you if she don't, Johnny," said Bob.
Johnny muttered something in reply, but I did not distinguish what it
was, for my eyes closed, and I again fell asleep.
It seemed to me as if I had not been five minutes slumbering when the
mulatto returned with the soup. The tea had revived me, but this gave me
strength; and when I had taken it I was able to sit up in my bed.
While the woman was feeding me, Bob was eating his beefsteak. It was a
piece of meat that might have sufficed for six persons, but the man
seemed as hungry as if he had eaten nothing for three days. He cut off
wedges half as big as his fist, swallowed them with ravenous eagerness,
and, instead of bread, bit into some unpeeled potatoes. All this was
washed down with glass after glass of raw spirits, which had the effect
of wakening him up, and infusing a certain degree of cheerfulness into
his strange humour. He still spoke more to himself than to Johnny, but
his recollections seemed agreeable; he nodded self-approvingly, and
sometimes laughed aloud. At last he began to abuse Johnny for being, as
he said, such a sneaking, cowardly fellow--such a treacherous,
false-hearted gallows-bird.
"It's true," said he, "I am gallows-bird enough myself, but then I'm
open, and no man can say I'm a-fear'd; but Johnny, Johnny, who"----
I do not know what he was about to say, for Johnny sprang towards him,
and placed both hands over his mouth, receiving in return a blow that
knocked him as far as the door, through which he retreated, cursing and
grumbling.
I soon fell asleep again, and whilst in that state I had a confused sort
of consciousness of various noises in the room, loud words, blows, and
shouting. Wearied as I was, however, I believe no noise would have fully
roused me, although hunger at last did.
When I opened my eyes I saw the mulatto woman sitting by my bed, and
keeping off the mosquitoes. She brought me the remainder of the soup,
and promised, if I would sleep a couple of hours more, to bring me a
beefsteak. Before the two hours had elapsed I awoke, hungrier than ever.
After I had eaten all the beefsteak the woman would allow me, which was
a very moderate quantity, she brought me a beer-glass full of the most
delicious punch I ever tasted. I asked her where she had got the rum and
lemons, and she told me that it was she who had bought them, as well as
a stock of coffee and tea; that Johnny was her partner, but that he had
done nothing but build the house, and badly built it was. She then began
to abuse Johnny, and said he was a gambler; and, worse still, that he
had had plenty of money once, but had lost it all; that she had first
known him in Lower Natchez, but he had been obliged to run away from
there in the night to save his neck. Bob was no better, she said; on the
contrary--and here she made the gesture of cutting a man's throat--he
was a very bad fellow, she added. He had got drunk after his dinner,
knocked Johnny down, and broken every thing. He was now lying asleep
outside the door; and Johnny had hidden himself somewhere.
How long she continued speaking I know not, for I again fell into a deep
sleep, which this time lasted six or seven hours.
I was awakened by a strong grasp laid upon my arm, which made me cry
out, more, however, from surprise than pain. Bob stood by my bedside;
the traces of the preceding night's debauch plainly written on his
haggard countenance. His bloodshot eyes were inflamed and swollen, and
rolled with even more than their usual wildness; his mouth was open, and
the jaws stiff and fixed; he looked as if he had just come from
committing some frightful deed. I could fancy the first murderer to have
worn such an aspect when gazing on the body of his slaughtered brother.
I shrank back, horror-struck at his appearance.
"In God's name, man, what do you want?"
He made no answer.
"You are in a fever. You've the ague!"
"Ay, a fever," groaned he, shivering as he spoke; "a fever, but not the
one you mean; a fever, young man, such as God keep you from ever
having."
His whole frame shuddered while he uttered these words. There was a
short pause.
"Curious that," continued he; "I've served more than one in the same
way, but never thought of it afterwards--was forgotten in less than no
time. Got to pay the whole score at once, I suppose. Can't rest a
minute. In the open prairie it's the worst; there stands the old man, so
plain, with his silver beard, and the spectre just behind him."
His eyes rolled, he clenched his fists, and, striking his forehead
furiously, rushed out of the hut.
In a few minutes he returned, apparently more composed, and walked
straight up to my bed.
"Stranger, you must do me a service," said he abruptly.
"Ten rather than one," replied I; "any thing that is in my power. Do I
not owe you my life?"
"You're a gentleman, I see, and a Christian. You must come with me to
the squire--the Alcalde."
"To the Alcalde, man! What must I go there for?"
"You'll see and hear when you get there; I've something to tell
him--something for his own ear."
He drew a deep breath, and remained silent for a short time, gazing
anxiously on all sides of him.
"Something," whispered he, "that nobody else must hear."
"But there's Johnny there. Why not take him?"
"Johnny!" cried he, with a scornful laugh; "Johnny! who's ten times
worse than I am, bad as I be; and bad I am to be sure, but yet open and
above board, always, till this time; but Johnny! he'd sell his own
mother. He's a cowardly, sneakin', treacherous hound, is Johnny."
It was unnecessary to tell me this, for Johnny's character was written
plainly enough upon his countenance.
"But why do you want me to go to the Alcalde?"
"Why does one want people before the judge? He's a judge, man; a Mexican
one certainly, but chosen by us Americans; and an American himself, as
you and I are."
"And how soon must I go?"
"Directly. I can't bear it any longer. It leaves me no peace. Not an
hour's rest have I had for the last eight days. When I go out into the
prairie, the spectre stands before me and beckons me on, and if I try to
go another way, he comes behind me and drives me before him under the
Patriarch. I see him just as plainly as when he was alive, only paler
and sadder. It seems as if I could touch him with my hand. Even the
bottle is no use now; neither rum, nor whisky, nor brandy, rid me of
him; it don't, by the 'tarnel.--Curious that! I got drunk
yesterday--thought to get rid of him; but he came in the night and drove
me out. I was obliged to go. Wouldn't let me sleep; was forced to go
under the Patriarch."
"Under the Patriarch? the live oak?" cried I, in astonishment.--"Were
you there in the night?"
"Ay, that was I," replied he, in the same horribly confidential tone;
"and the spirit threatened me, and said I will leave you no peace, Bob,
till you go to the Alcalde and tell him"----
"Then I will go with you to the Alcalde, and that immediately," said I,
raising myself up in bed. I could not help pitying the poor fellow from
my very soul.
"Where are you going?" croaked Johnny, who at this moment glided into
the room. "Not a step shall you stir till you've paid."
"Johnny," said Bob, seizing his less powerful companion by the
shoulders, lifting him up like a child, and then setting him down again
with such force, that his knees cracked and bent under him;--"Johnny,
this gentlemen is my guest, d'ye understand? And here is the reckonin',
and mind yourself, Johnny--mind yourself, that's all."
Johnny crept into a corner like a flogged hound; the mulatto woman,
however, did not seem disposed to be so easily intimidated. Sticking her
arms in her sides, she waddled boldly forward.
"You not take him 'way, Massa Bob?", screamed she. "Him stop here. Him
berry weak--not able for ride--not able for stand on him foot."
This was true enough. Strong as I had felt in bed, I could hardly stand
upright when I got out of it.
For a moment Bob seemed undecided, but only for one moment; then,
stepping up to the mulatto, he lifted her, fat and heavy as she was, in
the same manner as he had done her partner, at least a foot from the
ground, and carried her screaming and struggling to the door, which he
kicked open. Then setting her down outside, "Silence!" roared he, "and
some good strong tea instead of your cursed chatter, and a fresh
beefsteak instead of your stinking carcass. That will strengthen the
gentleman; so be quick about it, you old brown-skinned beast, you!"
I had slept in my clothes, and my toilet was consequently soon made, by
the help of a bowl of water and towel, which Bob made Johnny bring, and
then ordered him to go and get our horses ready.
A hearty breakfast of tea, butter, Indian corn bread, and steaks,
increased my strength so much, that I was able to mount my mustang. I
had still pains in all my limbs, but we rode slowly; the morning was
bright, the air fresh and elastic, and I felt myself getting gradually
better. Our path led through the prairie; the river fringed with wood,
on the one hand; the vast ocean of grass, sprinkled with innumerable
islands of trees, on the other. We saw abundance of game, which sprang
up under the very feet of our horses; but although Bob had his rifle, he
made no use of it. He muttered continually to himself, and seemed to be
arranging what he should say to the judge; for I heard him talking of
things which I would just as soon not have listened to, if I could have
helped it. I was heartily glad when we at length reached the plantation
of the Alcalde.
It seemed a very considerable one, and the size and appearance of the
framework house bespoke comfort and every luxury. The building was
surrounded by a group of China trees, which I should have thought about
ten years of age, but which I afterwards learned had not been planted
half that time, although they were already large enough to afford a very
agreeable shade. Right in front of the house rose a live oak, inferior
in size to the one in the prairie, but still of immense age and great
beauty. To the left was some two hundred acres of cotton fields,
extending to the bank of the Jacinto, which at this spot made a sharp
turn, and winding round the plantation, enclosed it on three sides.
Before the house lay the prairie, with its archipelago of islands, and
herds of grazing cattle and mustangs; to the right, more cotton fields;
and in rear of the dwelling, the negro cottages and out-buildings. There
was a Sabbath-like stillness pervading the whole scene, which seemed to
strike even Bob. He paused as though in deep thought, and allowed his
hand to rest for a moment on the handle of the lattice door. Then with a
sudden and resolute jerk, bespeaking an equally sudden resolution, he
pushed open the gate, and we entered a garden planted with orange,
banana, and citron trees, the path through which was enclosed between
palisades, and led to a sort of front court, with another lattice-work
door, beside which hung a bell. Upon ringing this, a negro appeared.
The black seemed to know Bob very well, for he nodded to him as to an
old acquaintance, and said the squire wanted him, and had asked after
him several times. He then led the way to a large parlour, very
handsomely furnished for Texas, and in which we found the squire, or
more properly speaking, the Alcalde, sitting smoking his cigar. He had
just breakfasted, and the plates and dishes were still upon the table.
He did not appear to be much given to compliments or ceremony, or to
partake at all of the Yankee failing of curiosity, for he answered our
salutation with a laconic "good-morning," and scarcely even looked at
us. At the very first glance, it was easy to see that he came from
Tennessee or Virginia, the only provinces in which one finds men of his
gigantic mould. Even sitting, his head rose above those of the negro
servants in waiting. Nor was his height alone remarkable; he had the
true West-Virginian build; the enormous chest and shoulders, and
herculean limbs, the massive features and sharp grey eyes; altogether an
exterior well calculated to impose on the rough backwoodsmen with whom
he had to deal.
I was tired with my ride, and took a chair. The squire apparently did
not deem me worthy of notice, or else he reserved me for a later
scrutiny; but he fixed a long, searching look upon Bob, who remained
standing, with his head sunk on his breast.
The judge at last broke silence.
"So here you are again, Bob. It's long since we've seen you, and I
thought you had clean forgotten us. Well, Bob, we shouldn't have broke
our hearts, I reckon; for I hate gamblers--ay, that I do--worse than
skunks. It's a vile thing is play, and has ruined many a man in this
world, and the next. It's ruined you too, Bob."
Bob said nothing.
"You'd have been mighty useful here last week; there was plenty for you
to do. My step-daughter arrived; but as you weren't to be found, we had
to send to Joel to shoot us a buck and a couple of dozen snipes. Ah,
Bob! one might still make a good citizen of you, if you'd only leave off
that cursed play!"
Bob still remained silent.
"Now go into the kitchen and get some breakfast."
Bob neither answered nor moved.
"D'ye hear? Go into the kitchen and get something to eat. And,
Ptoly"--added he to the negro--"tell Veny to give him a pint of rum."
"Don't want yer rum--ain't thirsty"--growled Bob.
"Very like, very like," said the judge sharply. "Reckon you've taken too
much already. Look as if you could swallow a wild cat, claws and all.
And you," added he, turning to me--"What the devil are you at, Ptoly?
Don't you see the man wants his breakfast? Where's the coffee? Or would
you rather have tea?"
"Thank you, Alcalde, I have breakfasted already."
"Don't look as if. Ain't sick, are you? Where do you come from? What's
happened to you? What are you doing with Bob?"
He looked keenly and searchingly at me, and then again at Bob. My
appearance was certainly not very prepossessing, unshaven as I was, and
with my clothes and linen soiled and torn. He was evidently considering
what could be the motive of our visit, and what had brought me into
Bob's society. The result of his physiognomical observations did not
appear very favourable either to me or my companion. I hastened to
explain.
"You shall hear how it was, judge. I am indebted to Bob for my life."
"Your life! Indebted to Bob for your life!" repeated the judge, shaking
his head incredulously.
I related how I had lost my way in the prairie; been carried into the
Jacinto by my horse; and how I should inevitably have been drowned but
for Bob's aid.
"Indeed!" said the judge, when I had done speaking. "So, Bob saved your
life! Well, I am glad of it, Bob, very glad of it. Ah! if you could only
keep away from that Johnny. I tell you, Bob, Johnny will be the ruin of
you. Better keep out of his way."
"It's too late," answered Bob.
"Don't know why it should be. Never too late to leave a debauched,
sinful life; never, man!"
"Calkilate it is, though," replied Bob sullenly.
"You calculate it is?" said the judge, fixing his eyes on him. "And why
do you calculate that? Take a glass--Ptoly, a glass--and tell me, man,
why should it be too late?"
"I ain't thirsty, squire," said Bob.
"Don't talk to me of your thirst; rum's not for thirst, but to
strengthen the heart and nerves, to drive away the blue devils. And a
good thing it is, taken in moderation."
As he spoke he filled himself a glass, and drank half of it off. Bob
shook his head.
"No rum for me, squire. I take no pleasure in it. I've something on my
mind too heavy for rum to wash away."
"And what is that, Bob? Come, let's hear what you've got to say. Or
perhaps, you'd rather speak to me alone. It's Sunday to-day, and no
business ought to be done; but for once, and for you, we'll make an
exception."
"I brought the gentleman with me on purpose to witness what I had to
say," answered Bob, taking a cigar out of a box that stood on the table,
and lighting it. He smoked a whiff or two, looked thoughtfully at the
judge, and then threw the cigar through the open window.
"It don't relish, squire; nothin' does now."
"Ah, Bob! if you'd leave off play and drink! They're your ruin; worse
than ague or fever."
"It's no use," continued Bob, as if he did not hear the judge's remark;
"it must out. I fo't agin it, and thought to drive it away, but it can't
be done. I've put a bit of lead into several before now, but this
one"----
"What's that?" cried the judge, chucking his cigar away, and looking
sternly at Bob. "What's up now? What are you saying about a bit of lead?
None of your Sodoma and Lower Natchez tricks, I hope? They won't do
here. Don't understand such jokes."
"Pooh! they don't understand them a bit more in Natchez. If they did, I
shouldn't be in Texas."
"The less said of that the better, Bob. You promised to lead a new life
here; so we won't rake up old stories."
"I did, I did!" groaned Bob; "but it's all no use. I shall never be
better till I'm hung."
I stared at the man in astonishment. The judge, however, took another
cigar, lighted it, and, after puffing out a cloud of smoke, said, very
unconcernedly"--
"Not better till you're hung! What do you want to be hung
for? To be sure, you should have been long ago, if the Georgia and
Alabama papers don't lie. But we are not in the States here, but in
Texas, under Mexican laws. It's nothing to us what you've done yonder.
Where there is no accuser there can be no judge."
"Send away the nigger, squire," said Bob. "What a free white man has to
say, shouldn't be heard by black ears."
"Go away, Ptoly," said the judge. "Now, then," added he, turning to Bob,
"say what you have to say; but mind, nobody forces you to do it, and
it's only out of good will that I listen to you, for to-day's Sunday."
"I know that," muttered Bob; "I know that, squire; but it leaves me no
peace, and it must out. I've been to San Felipe de Austin, to Anahuac,
every where, but it's all no use. Wherever I go, the spectre follows me,
and drives me back under the cursed Patriarch."
"Under the Patriarch!" exclaimed the judge.
"Ay, under the Patriarch!" groaned Bob. "Don't you know the Patriarch;
the old live oak near the ford, on the Jacinto?"
"I know, I know!" answered the Judge. "And what drives you under the
Patriarch?"
"What drives me? What drives a man who--who"----
"A man who"---- repeated the judge, gently.
"A man," continued Bob, in the same low tone, "who has sent a rifle
bullet into another's heart. He lies there, under the Patriarch, whom
I"----
"Whom you?" asked the judge.
"_Whom I killed!_" said Bob, in a hollow whisper.
"Killed!" exclaimed the judge. "You killed him? Whom?"
"Ah! whom? Why don't you let me speak? You always interrupt me with your
palaver," growled Bob.
"You are getting saucy, Bob," said the judge impatiently. "Go on,
however. I reckon it's only one of your usual tantrums."
Bob shook his head. The judge looked keenly at him for a moment, and
then resumed in a sort of confidential, encouraging tone.
"Under the Patriarch; and how did he come under the Patriarch?"
"I dragged him there, and buried him there," replied Bob.
"Dragged him there! Why did you drag him there?"
"Because he couldn't go himself, with more than half an ounce of lead in
his body."
"And _you_ put the half ounce of lead into him, Bob? Well, if it was
Johnny, you've done the country a service, and saved it a rope."
Bob shook his head negatively.
"It wasn't Johnny, although---- But you shall hear all about it. It's
just ten days since you paid me twenty dollars fifty."
"I did so, Bob; twenty dollars fifty cents, and I advised you at the
same time to let the money lie till you had a couple of hundred dollars,
or enough to buy a quarter or an eighth of Sitio land; but advice is
thrown away upon you."
"When I got the money, I thought I'd go down to San Felipe, to the
Mexicans, and try my luck; and, at the same time, see the doctor about
my fever. As I was goin' there, I passed near Johnny's house, and
fancied a glass, but determined not to get off my horse. I rode up to
the window, and looked in. There was a man sittin' at the table, havin'
a hearty good dinner of steaks and potatoes, and washin' it down with a
stiff glass of grog. I began to feel hungry myself, and while I was
considerin' whether I should 'light or not, Johnny came sneakin' out,
and whispered to me to come in, that there was a man inside with whom
somethin' might be done if we went the right way to work; a man who had
a leather belt round his waist cram-full of hard Jackson; and that, if
we got out the cards and pretended to play a little together, he would
soon take the bait and join us.
"I wasn't much inclined to do it," continued Bob; "but Johnny bothered
me so to go in, that I got off my horse. As I did so the dollars chinked
in my pocket, and the sound gave me a wish to play.
"I went in; and Johnny fetched the whisky bottle. One glass followed
another. There were beefsteaks and potatoes too, but I only eat a
couple of mouthfuls. When I had drank two, three, ay, four glasses,
Johnny brought the cards and dice. 'Hallo, Johnny!' says I; 'cards and
dice, Johnny! I've twenty dollars fifty in my pocket. Let's have a game!
But no more drink for me; for I know you, Johnny, I know you'----
"Johnny larfed slyly, and rattled the dice, and we sat down to play. I
hadn't meant to drink any more, but play makes one thirsty; and with
every glass I got more eager, and my dollars got fewer. I reckoned,
however, that the stranger would join us, and that I should be able to
win back from him; but not a bit of it: he sat quite quiet, and eat and
drank as if he didn't see we were there. I went on playin' madder than
ever, and before half an hour was over, I was cleaned out; my twenty
dollars fifty gone to the devil, or what's the same thing, into Johnny's
pocket.
"When I found myself without a cent, I _was_ mad, I reckon. It warn't
the first time, nor the hundredth, that I had lost money. Many bigger
sums than that--ay, hundreds and thousands of dollars had I played
away--but they had none of them cost me the hundredth or thousandth part
of the trouble to get that these twenty dollars fifty had; two full
months had I been slavin' away in the woods and prairies to airn them,
and I caught the fever there. The fever I had still, but no money to
cure it with. Johnny only larfed in my face, and rattled my dollars. I
made a hit at him, which, if he hadn't jumped on one side, would have
cured him of larfin' for a week or two.
"Presently, however, he came sneakin' up to me, and winkin' and
whisperin'; and, 'Bob!' says he, 'is it come to that with you? are you
grown so chicken-hearted that you don't see the beltful of money round
his body?' said he, lookin' at it. 'No end of hard coin, I guess; and
all to be had for little more than half an ounce of lead.'"
"Did he say that?" asked the judge.
"Ay, that did he, but I wouldn't listen to him. I was mad with him for
winning my twenty dollars; and I told him that, if he wanted the
stranger's purse, he might take it himself, and be d----d; that I
wasn't goin' to pull the hot chestnuts out of the fire for him. And I
got on my horse, and rode away like mad.
"My head spun round like a mill. I couldn't get over my loss. I took the
twenty dollars fifty more to heart than any money I had ever gambled. I
didn't know where to go. I didn't dare go back to you, for I knew you'd
scold me."
"I shouldn't have scolded you, Bob; or, if I had, it would only have
been for your good. I should have summoned Johnny before me, called
together a jury of twelve of the neighbours, got you back your twenty
dollars fifty, and sent Johnny out of the country; or, better still, out
of the world."
These words were spoken with much phlegm, but yet with a degree of
feeling and sympathy, which greatly improved my opinion of the worthy
judge. Bob also seemed touched. He drew a deep sigh, and gazed at the
Alcalde with a melancholy look.
"It's too late," muttered he; "too late, squire."
"Perhaps not," replied the judge, "but let's hear the rest."
"Well," continued Bob, "I kept riding on at random, and when evenin'
came I found myself near the palmetta field on the bank of the Jacinto.
As I was ridin' past it, I heard all at once the tramp of a horse. At
that moment the queerest feelin' I ever had came over me; a sort of cold
shiverin' feel. I forgot where I was; sight and hearin' left me; I could
only see two things, my twenty dollars fifty, and the well-filled belt
of the stranger I had left at Johnny's. Just then a voice called to me.
"'Whence come, countryman, and whither going?' it said.
"'Whence and whether,' answered I, as surly as could be; 'to the devil
at a gallop, and you'd better ride on and tell him I'm comin'.'
"'You can do the errand yourself,' answered the stranger larfin'; 'my
road don't lie that way.'
"As he spoke, I looked round, and saw, what I was pretty sure of before,
that it was the man with the belt full of money.
"'Ain't you the stranger I see'd in the inn yonder?' asked he.
"'And if I am,' says I; 'what's that to you?'
"'Nothin',' said he; 'nothin', certainly.'
"'Better ride on,' says I; 'and leave me quiet.'
"'Will so, stranger; but you needn't take it so mighty onkind. A word
ain't a tomahawk, I reckon,' said he. 'But I rayther expect your losin's
at play ain't put you in a very church-goin' humour; and, if I was you,
I'd keep my dollars in my pocket, and not set them on cards and dice.'
"This put me in a rile to hear him cast my losin's in my teeth that way.
"'You're a nice feller,' said I, 'to throw a man's losses in his face. A
pitiful chap _you_ are,' says I.
"I thought to provoke him, and that he'd tackle me. But he seemed to
have no fancy for a fight, for he said quite humble like--
"'I throw nothin' in your face; God forbid that I should reproach you
with your losses! I'm sorry for you, on the contrary. Don't look like a
man who can afford to lose his dollars. Seem to me one who airns his
money by hard work.'
"We were just then halted at the further end of the cane brake, close to
the trees that border the Jacinto. I had turned my horse, and was
frontin' the stranger. And all the time the devil was busy whisperin' to
me, and pointin' to the belt round the man's waist. I could see where it
was, plain enough, though he had buttoned his coat over it.
"'Hard work, indeed,' says I; 'and now I've lost every thing; not a cent
left for a quid of baccy.'
"'If that's all,' says he; 'there's help for that. I don't chew myself,
and I ain't a rich man; I've wife and children, and want every cent I've
got, but it's one's duty to help a countryman. You shall have money for
tobacco and a dram.'
"And so sayin', he took a purse out of his pocket, in which he carried
his change. It was plenty full; there may have been some twenty dollars
in it; and as he drew the string, it was as if the devil laughed and
nodded to me out of the openin' of the purse.
"'Halves!' cried I.
"'No, not that,' says he; 'I've wife and child, and what I have belongs
to them; but half a dollar'----
"'Halves!' cried I again; 'or else'----
"'Or else?' repeated he: and, as he spoke, he put the purse back into
his pocket, and laid hold of the rifle which was slung on his shoulder.
"'Don't force one to do you a mischief,' said he. 'Don't' says he; 'we
might both be sorry for it. What you're thinkin' of brings no blessin'.'
"I was past seein' or hearin'. A thousand devils from hell were
possessin' me.
"'Halves!' I yelled out; and, as I said the word, he sprang out of the
saddle, and fell back over his horse's crupper to the ground.
"'I'm a dead man!' cried he; as well as the rattle in his throat would
let him. 'God be merciful to me! My poor wife, my poor children!'"
Bob paused; he gasped for breath, and the sweat stood in large drops
upon his forehead. He gazed wildly round the room. The judge himself
looked very pale. I tried to rise, but sank back in my chair. Without
the table I believe I should have fallen to the ground.
There was a gloomy pause of some moments' duration. At last the judge
broke silence.
"A hard, hard case!" said he. "Father, mother, children, all at one
blow. Bob, you are a bad fellow; a very bad fellow; a great villain!"
"A great villain," groaned Bob. "The ball was gone right through his
breast."
"Perhaps your gun went off by accident," said the judge anxiously.
"Perhaps it was his own ball."
Bob shook his head.
"I see him now, judge, as plain as can be, when he said, 'Don't force me
to do you a mischief. We might both be sorry for it.' But I pulled the
trigger. His bullet is still in his rifle.
"When I saw him lie dead before me, I can't tell you what I felt. It
warn't the first I had sent to his account; but yet I would have given
all the purses and money in the world to have had him alive agin. I must
have dragged him under the Patriarch, and dug a grave with my huntin'
knife; for I found him there afterwards."
"You found him there?" repeated the judge.
"Yes. I don't know how he came there. I must have brought him, but I
recollect nothin' about it."
The judge had risen from his chair, and was walking up and down the
room, apparently in deep thought. Suddenly he stopped short.
"What have you done with his money?"
"I took his purse, but buried his belt with him, as well as a flask of
rum, and some bread and beef he had brought away from Johnny's. I set
out for San Felipe, and rode the whole day. In the evenin', when I
looked about me, expectin' to see the town, where do you think I was?"
The judge and I stared at him.
"Under the Patriarch. The ghost of the murdered man had driven me there.
I had no peace till I'd dug him up and buried him again. Next day I set
off in another direction. I was out of tobacco, and I started across the
prairie to Anahuac. Lord, what a day I passed! Wherever I went, _he_
stood before me. If I turned, _he_ turned too. Sometimes he came behind
me, and looked over my shoulder. I spurred my mustang till the blood
came, hopin' to get away from him, but it was all no use. I thought when
I got to Anahuac I should be quit of him, and I galloped on as if for
life or death. But in the evenin', instead of bein' close to the
salt-works as I expected, there I was agin, under the Patriarch. I dug
him up a second time, and sat and stared at him, and then buried him
agin."
"Queer that," observed the judge.
"Ay, very queer!" said Bob mournfully. "But it's all no use. Nothin'
does me any good. I sha'n't be better--I shall never have peace till I'm
hung."
Bob evidently felt relieved now, he had in a manner passed sentence on
himself. Strange as it may appear, I had a similar feeling, and could
not help nodding my head approvingly. The judge alone preserved an
unmoved countenance.
"Indeed!" said he, "indeed! You think you'll be no better till you're
hung."
"Yes," answered Bob, with eager haste. "Hung on the same tree under
which _he_ lies buried."
"Well, if you will have it so, we'll see what can be done for you. We'll
call a jury of the neighbours together to-morrow."
"Thank ye, squire," murmured Bob, visibly comforted by this promise.
"We'll summon a jury," repeated the Alcalde, "and see what can be done
for you. You'll perhaps have changed your mind by that time."
I stared at him like one fallen from the clouds, but he did not seem to
notice my surprise.
"There is, perhaps, another way to get rid of your life, if you are
tired of it," he continued. "We might, perhaps, hit upon one that would
satisfy your conscience."
Bob shook his head. I involuntarily made the same movement.
"At any rate, we'll hear what the neighbours say," added the judge.
Bob stepped up to the judge, and held out his hand to bid him farewell.
The other did not take it, and turning to me, said--"_You_ had better
stop here, I think."
Bob turned round impetuously.
"The gentleman must come with me."
"Why must he?" said the judge.
"Ask himself."
I again explained the obligations I was under to Bob; how we had fallen
in with one another, and what care and attention he had shown me at
Johnny's.
The judge nodded approvingly. "Nevertheless," said he, "you will remain
here, and Bob will go alone. You are in a state of mind, Bob, in which a
man is better alone, d'ye see; and so leave the young man here. Another
misfortune might happen; and, at any rate, he's better here than at
Johnny's. Come back to-morrow, and we'll see what can be done for you."
These words were spoken in a decided manner, which seemed to have its
effect upon Bob. He nodded assentingly, and left the room. I remained
staring at the judge, and lost in wonder at these strange proceedings.
When Bob was gone, the Alcalde gave a blast on a shell, which supplied
the place of a bell. Then seizing the cigar box, he tried one cigar
after another, broke them peevishly up, and threw the pieces out of the
window. The negro whom the shell had summoned, stood for some time
waiting, while his master broke up the cigars, and threw them away. At
last the judge's patience seemed quite to leave him.
"Hark ye, Ptoly!" growled he to the frightened black, "the next time you
bring me cigars that neither draw nor smoke, I'll make your back smoke
for it. Mind that, now;--there's not a single one of them worth a rotten
maize stalk. Tell that old coffee-coloured hag of Johnny's, that I'll
have no more of her cigars. Ride over to Mr Ducie's and fetch a box.
And, d'ye hear? Tell him I want to speak a word with him and the
neighbours. Ask him to bring the neighbours with him to-morrow morning.
And mind you're home again by two o'clock. Take the mustang we caught
last week. I want to see how he goes."
The negro listened to these various commands with open mouth and staring
eyes, then giving a perplexed look at his master, shot out of the room.
"Where away, Ptoly?" shouted the Alcalde after him.
"To Massa Ducie."
"Without a pass, Ptoly? And what are you going to say to Mr Ducie?"
"Him nebber send bad cigar again, him coffee-cullud hag. Massa speak to
Johnny and neighbours. Johnny bring neighbours here."
"I thought as much," said the judge with perfect equanimity. "Wait a
minute, I'll write the pass, and a couple of lines for Mr Ducie."
This was soon done, and the negro dispatched on his errand. The judge
waited till he heard the sound of his horse's feet galloping away, and
then, laying hold of the box of despised cigars, lit the first which
came to hand. It smoked capitally, as did also one that I took. They
were Principes, and as good as I ever tasted.
I passed the whole of that day _tete a tete_ with the judge, who, I soon
found, knew various friends of mine in the States. I told him the
circumstances under which I had come to Texas, and the intention I had
of settling there, should I find the country to my liking. During our
long conversation, I was able to form a very different, and much more
favourable estimate of his character, than I had done from his interview
with Bob. He was the very man to be useful to a new country; of great
energy, sound judgment, enlarged and liberal views. He gave me some
curious information as to the state of things in Texas; and did not
think it necessary to conceal from me, as an American, and one who
intended settling in the country, that there was a plan in agitation for
throwing off the Mexican yoke, and declaring Texas an independent
republic. The high-spirited, and, for the most part, intelligent
emigrants from the United States, who formed a very large majority of
the population of Texas, saw themselves, with no very patient feeling,
under the rule of a people both morally and physically inferior to
themselves. They looked with contempt, and justly so, on the bigoted,
idle, and ignorant Mexicans, while the difference of religion, and
interference of the priests, served to increase the dislike between the
Spanish and Anglo-American races.
Although the project was as yet not quite ripe for execution, it was
discussed freely and openly by the American settlers. "It is the
interest of every man to keep it secret," said the judge; "and there can
be nothing to induce even the worst amongst us to betray a cause, by the
success of which he is sure to profit. We have many bad characters in
Texas, the offscourings of the United States, men like Bob, or far worse
than him; but debauched, gambling, drunken villains though they be, they
are the men we want when it comes to a struggle; and when that time
arrives, they will all be found ready to put their shoulders to the
wheel, use knife and rifle, and shed the last drop of their blood in
defence of their fellow citizens, and of the new and independent
republic of Texas. At this moment, we must wink at many things which
would be severely punished in an older and more settled country; each
man's arm is of immense value to the State; for, on the day of battle,
we shall have, not two to one, but twenty to one opposed to us."
I was awakened the following morning by the sound of a horse's feet;
and, looking out of the window, saw Bob dismounting from his mustang.
The last twenty-four hours had told fearfully upon him. His limbs
seemed powerless, and he reeled and staggered in such a manner, that I
at first thought him intoxicated. But such was not the case. His was the
deadly weariness caused by mental anguish. He looked like one just taken
off the rack.
Hastily pulling on my clothes, I hurried down stairs, and opened the
house door. Bob stood with his head resting on his horse's neck, and his
hands crossed, shivering, and groaning. When I spoke to him, he looked
up, but did not seem to know me. I tied his horse to a post, and taking
his hand, led him into the house. He followed like a child, apparently
without the will or the power to resist; and when I placed him in a
chair, he fell into it with a weight that made it crack under him, and
shook the house. I could not get him to speak, and was about to return
to my room to complete my toilet, when I again heard the tramp of
mustangs. This was a party of half a dozen horsemen, all dressed in
hunting shirts over buckskin breeches and jackets, and armed with rifles
and bowie-knives; stout, daring looking fellows, evidently from the
south-western states, with the true Kentucky half horse half alligator
profile, and the usual allowance of thunder, lightning, and earthquake.
It struck me when I saw them, that two or three thousand such men would
have small difficulty in dealing with a whole army of Mexicans, if the
latter were all of the pigmy, spindle-shanked breed I had seen on first
landing. These giants could easily have walked away with a Mexican in
each hand.
They jumped off their horses, and threw the bridles to the negroes in
the usual Kentuckian devil-may-care style, and then walked into the
house with the air of people who make themselves at home every where,
and who knew themselves to be more masters in Texas than the Mexicans
themselves. On entering the parlour, they nodded a "good-morning" to me,
rather coldly to be sure, for they had seen me talking with Bob, which
probably did not much recommend me. Presently, four more horsemen rode
up, and then a third party, so that there were now fourteen of them
assembled, all decided-looking men, in the prime of life and strength.
The judge, who slept in an adjoining room, had been awakened by the
noise. I heard him jump out of bed, and not three minutes elapsed before
he entered the parlour.
After he had shaken hands with all his visitors, he presented me to
them, and I found that I was in the presence of no less important
persons than the Ayuntamiento of San Felipe de Austin; and that two of
my worthy countrymen were corregidors, one a procurador, and the others
_buenos hombres_, or freeholders. They did not seem, however, to prize
their titles much, for they addressed one another by their surnames
only.
The negro brought a light, opened the cigar box, and arranged the
chairs; the judge pointed to the sideboard, and to the cigars, and then
sat down. Some took a dram, others lit a cigar.
Several minutes elapsed, during which the men sat in perfect silence, as
if they were collecting their thoughts, or, as though it were
undignified to show any haste or impatience to speak. This grave sort of
deliberation which is met with among certain classes, and in certain
provinces of the Union, has often struck me as a curious feature of our
national character. It partakes of the stoical dignity of the Indian at
his council fire, and of the stern, religious gravity of the early
puritan settlers in America.
During this pause Bob was writhing on his chair like a worm, his face
concealed by his hands, his elbows on his knees. At last, when all had
drank and smoked, the judge laid down his cigar.
"Men!" said he.
"Squire!" answered they.
"We've a business before us, which I calculate will be best explained by
him whom it concerns."
The men looked at the squire, then at Bob, then at me.
"Bob Rock! or whatever your name may be, if you have aught to say, say
it!" continued the judge.
"Said it all yesterday," muttered Bob, his face still covered by his
hands.
"Yes, but you must say it again to-day. Yesterday was Sunday, and Sunday
is a day of rest, and not of business. I will neither judge you, nor
allow you to be judged, by what you said yesterday. Besides, it was all
between ourselves, for I don't reckon Mr Rivers as any thing; I count
him still as a stranger."
"What's the use of so much palaver, when the thing's plain enough?" said
Bob peevishly, raising his head as he spoke.
The men stared at him in grave astonishment. He was really frightful to
behold, his face of a sort of blue tint; his cheeks hollow, his beard
wild and ragged; his blood-shot eyes rolling, and deep sunk in their
sockets. His appearance was scarcely human.
"I tell you, again," said the judge, "I will condemn no man upon his own
word alone; much less you, who have been in my service, and eaten of my
bread. You accused yourself yesterday, but you were delirious at the
time--you had the fever upon you."
"It's no use, squire," said Bob, apparently touched by the kindness of
the judge, "You mean well, I see; butt though you might deliver me out
of men's hands, you couldn't rescue me from myself. It's no use--I must
be hung--hung on the same tree under which the man I killed lies
buried."
The men, or the jurors, as I may call them, looked at one another, but
said nothing.
"It's no use," again cried Bob, in a shrill, agonized tone. "If he had
attacked me, or only threatened me; but no, he didn't do it. I hear
his words still, when he said, 'Do it not, man! I've wife and child.
What you intend, brings no blessin' on the doer.' But I heard
nothin' then except the voice of the devil; I brought the rifle
down--levelled--fired."
The man's agony was so intense, that even the iron featured jury seemed
moved by it. They cast sharp, but stolen glances at Bob. There was a
short silence.
"So you have killed a man?" said a deep bass voice at last.
"Ay, that have I!" gasped Bob.
"And how came that?" continued his questioner.
"How it came? You must ask the devil, or Johnny. No, not Johnny, he can
tell you nothing; he was not there. No one can tell you but me; and I
hardly know how it was. The man was at Johnny's, and Johnny showed me
his belt full of money."
"Johnny!" exclaimed several of the jury.
"Ay, Johnny! He reckoned on winning it from him, but the man was too
cautious for that; and when Johnny had plucked all my feathers, won my
twenty dollars fifty"----
"Twenty dollars fifty cents," interposed the judge, "which I paid him for
catching mustangs and shooting game."
The men nodded.
"And then because he wouldn't play, you shot him?" asked the same
deep-toned voice as before.
"No--some hours after--by the Jacinto, near the Patriarch--met him down
there and killed him."
"Thought there was something out o' the common thereaway," said one of
the jury; "for as we rode by the tree a whole nation of kites and turkey
buzzards flew out. Didn't they, Mr Heart?"
Mr Heart nodded.
"Met him by the river, and cried, halves of his money," continued Bob
mechanically. "He said he'd give me something to buy a quid, and more
than enough for that, but not halves 'I've wife and child,' said he"----
"And you?" asked the juror with the deep voice, which this time,
however, had a hollow sound in it.
"Shot him down," said Bob, with a wild hoarse laugh.
For some time no word was spoken.
"And who was the man?" said a juror at last.
"Didn't ask him; and it warn't written on his face. He was from the
States; but whether a hosier, or a buckeye, or a mudhead, is more than I
can say."
"The thing must be investigated, Alcalde," said another of the jury
after a second pause.
"It must so," answered the Alcalde.
"What's the good of so much investigation?" grumbled Bob.
"What good?" repeated the Alcalde. "Because we owe it to ourselves, to
the dead man, and to you, not to sentence you without having held an
inquest on the body. There's another thing which I must call your
attention to," continued he, turning to the jury; "the man is half out
of his mind--not _compos mentis_, as they say. He's got the fever, and
had it when he did the deed; he was urged on by Johnny, and maddened by
his losses at play. In spite of his wild excitement, however, he saved
that gentleman's life yonder, Mr Edward Nathanael Rivers."
"Did he so?" said one of the jury. "That did he," replied I, "not only
by saving me from drowning when my horse dragged me, half dead and
helpless, into the river, but also by the care and attention he forced
Johnny and his mulatto to bestow upon me. Without him I should not be
alive at this moment."
Bob gave me a look which went to my heart. The tears were standing in
his eyes. The jury heard me in deep silence.
"It seems that Johnny led you on and excited you to this?" said one of
the jurors.
"I didn't say that. I only said that he pointed to the man's money bag,
and said---- But what is it to you what Johnny said? I'm the man who did
it. I speak for myself, and I'll be hanged for myself."
"All very good, Bob," interposed the Alcalde; "but we can't hang you
without being sure you deserve it. What do you say to it, Mr Whyte?
You're the procurador--and you, Mr Heart and Mr Stone? Help yourselves
to rum or brandy; and, Mr Bright and Irwin, take another cigar. They're
considerable tolerable the cigars--ain't they? That's brandy, Mr Whyte,
in the diamond bottle."
Mr Whyte had got up to give his opinion, as I thought, but I was
mistaken. He stepped to the sideboard, took up a bottle in one hand and
a glass in the other, every movement being performed with the greatest
deliberation.
"Well, squire," said he, "or rather _Alcalde_"----
After the word _Alcalde_, he filled the glass half full of rum.
"If it's as we've heard," added he, pouring about a spoonful of water on
the rum, "and Bob has killed the man"--he continued, throwing in some
lumps of sugar--"murdered him"--he went on, crushing the sugar with a
wooden stamp--"I rather calkilate"--here he raised the glass--"Bob ought
to be hung," he concluded, putting the tumbler to his mouth and emptying
it.
The jurors nodded in silence. Bob drew a deep breath, as if a load were
taken off his breast.
"Well," said the judge, who did not look over well pleased; "if you all
think so, and Bob is agreed, I calculate we must do as he wishes. I tell
you, though, I don't do it willingly. At any rate we must find the dead
man first, and examine Johnny. We owe that to ourselves and to Bob."
"Certainly," said the jury with one voice.
"You are a dreadful murderer, Bob a very considerable one," continued
the judge; "but I tell you to your face, and not to flatter you, there
is more good in your little finger than in Johnny's whole hide. And I'm
sorry for you, because, at the bottom, you are not a bad man, though
you've been led away by bad company and example. I calculate you might
still be reformed, and made very useful--more so, perhaps, than you
think. Your rifle's a capital good one."
At these last words the men all looked up, and threw a keen enquiring
glance at Bob.
"You might be of great service," continued the judge encouragingly, "to
the country and to your fellow-citizens. You're worth a dozen Mexicans
any day."
While the judge was speaking, Bob let his head fall on his breast, and
seemed reflecting. He now looked up.
"I understand, squire; I see what you're drivin' at. But I can't do
it--I can't wait so long. My life's a burthen and a sufferin' to me.
Wherever I go, by day or by night, he's always there, standin' before
me, and drivin' me under the Patriarch."
There was a pause of some duration. The Judge resumed.
"So be it, then," said he with a sort of suppressed sigh. "We'll see the
body to-day, Bob, and you may come to-morrow at ten o'clock."
"Couldn't it be sooner?" asked Bob impatiently.
"Why sooner? Are you in such a hurry?" asked Mr Heart.
"What's the use of palaverin'?" said Bob sulkily. "I told you already
I'm sick of my life. If you don't come till ten o'clock, by the time
you've had your talk out and ridden to the Patriarch, the fever'll be
upon me."
"But we can't be flying about like a parcel of wild geese, because of
your fever," said the procurador.
"Certainly not," said Bob humbly.
"It's an ugly customer the fever, though, Mr Whyte," observed Mr Trace;
"and I calculate we ought to do him that pleasure. What do you think,
squire?"
"I reckon he's rather indiscreet in his askin's," said the judge, in a
tone of vexation. "However, as he wishes it, and if it is agreeable to
you," added he, turning to the Ayuntamiento; "and as it's you, Bob, I
calculate we must do what you ask."
"Thankee," said Bob.
"Nothing to thank for," growled the judge. "And now go into the kitchen
and get a good meal of roast beef, d'ye hear?" He knocked upon the
table. "Some good roast beef for Bob," said he to a negress who entered;
"and see that he eats it. And get your self dressed more decently,
Bob--like a white man and a Christian, not like a wild redskin."
The negress and Bob left the room. The conversation now turned upon
Johnny, who appeared, from all accounts, to be a very bad and dangerous
fellow; and after a short discussion, they agreed to lynch him, in
backwoodsman's phrase, just as cooly as if they had been talking of
catching a mustang. When the men had come to this satisfactory
conclusion, they got up, drank the judge's health and mine, shook us by
the hand, and left the house.
The day passed more heavily than the preceding one. I was too much
engrossed with the strange scene I had witnessed to talk much. The
judge, too, was in a very bad humour. He was vexed that a man should be
hung who might render the country much and good service if he remained
alive. That Johnny, the miserable, cowardly, treacherous Johnny, should
be sent out of the world as quickly as possible, was perfectly correct,
but with Bob it was very different. In vain did I remind him of the
crime of which Bob had been guilty--of the outraged laws of God and
man--and of the atonement due. It was of no use. If Bob had sinned
against society, he could repair his fault much better by remaining
alive than by being hung; and, for anything else, God would avenge it in
his own good time. We parted for the night, neither of us convinced by
the other's arguments.
We were sitting at breakfast the next morning, when a man, dressed in
black, rode up to the door. It was Bob, but so metamorphosed that I
scarcely knew him. Instead of the torn and bloodstained handkerchief
round his head, he wore a hat; instead of the leathern jacket, a decent
cloth coat. He had shaved off his beard too, and looked quite another
man. His manner had altered with his dress; he seemed tranquil and
resigned. With a mild and submissive look, he held out his hand to the
judge, who took it and shook it heartily.
"Ah, Bob!" said he, "if you had only listened to what I so often told
you! I had those clothes brought on purpose from New Orleans, in order
that, on Sundays at least, you might look like a decent and respectable
man. How often have I asked you to put them on, and come with us to
meeting, to hear Mr Bliss preach? There is same truth in the saying, the
coat makes the man. With his Sunday coat, a man often puts on other and
better thoughts. If that had been your case only fifty-two times in the
year, you'd have learned to avoid Johnny before now."
Bob said nothing.
"Well, well! I've done all I could to make a better men of you. All that
was in my power."
"That you have," answered Bob, much moved. "God reward you for it!"
I could not help holding out my hand to the worthy judge; and as I did
so I thought I saw a moistness in his eye, which he suppressed, however,
and, turning to his breakfast table, bade us sit down. Bob thanked him
humbly, but declined, saying that he wished to appear fasting before his
offended Creator. The judge insisted, and reasoned with him, and at last
he took a chair.
Before we had done breakfast our friends of the preceding day began to
drop in, and some of them joined at the meal. When they had all taken
what they chose, the judge ordered the negroes to clear away, and leave
the room. This done, he seated himself at the upper end of the table,
with the Ayuntamiento on either side, and Bob facing him.
"Mr Whyte," said the Alcade, "have you, as procurador, any thing to
state?"
"Yes, Alcalde," replied the procurador. "In virtue of my office, I made
a search in the place mentioned by Bob Rock, and there found the body of
a man who had met his death by a gunshot wound. I also found a belt
full of money, and several letters of recommendation to different
planters, from which it appears that the man was on his way from
Illinois to San Felipe, in order to buy land of Colonel Austin, and to
settle in Texas."
The procurador then produced a pair of saddle-bags, out of which he took
a leathern belt stuffed with money, which he laid on the table, together
with the letters. The judge opened the belt, and counted the money. It
amounted to upwards of five hundred dollars, in gold and silver. The
procurador then read the letters.
One of the corregidors now announced that Johnny and his mulatto had
left their house and fled. He, the corregidor, had sent people in
pursuit of them; but as yet there were no tidings of their capture. This
piece of intelligence seemed to vex the judge greatly, but he made no
remark on it at the time.
"Bob Rock!" cried he.
Bob stepped forward.
"Bob Rock, or by whatever other name you may be known, are you guilty or
not guilty of this man's death?"
"Guilty!" replied Bob, in a low tone.
"Gentlemen of the jury, will you be pleased to give your verdict?"
The jury left the room. In ten minutes they returned.
"Guilty!" said the foreman.
"Bob Rock," said the judge solemnly, "your fellow-citizens have found
you guilty; and I pronounce the sentence--that you be hung by the neck
until you are dead. The Lord be merciful to your soul!"
"Amen!" said all present.
"Thank ye," murmured Bob.
"We will seal up the property of the deceased," said the judge, "and
then proceed to our painful duty."
He called for a light, and he and the procurador and corregidors sealed
up the papers and money.
"Has any one aught to allege why the sentence should not be put in
execution?" said the Alcalde, with a glance at me.
"He saved my life, judge and fellow-citizens," cried I, deeply moved.
Bob shook his head mournfully.
"Let us go, then, in God's name," said the judge.
Without another word being spoken, we left the house and mounted our
horses. The judge had brought a Bible with him; and he rode on, a little
in front, with Bob, doing his best to prepare him for the eternity to
which he was hastening. Bob listened attentively for some time; but at
last he seemed to get impatient and pushed his mustang into so fast a
trot, that for a moment we suspected him of wishing to escape the doom
he had so eagerly sought. But it was only that he feared the fever might
return before the expiration of the short time he yet had to live.
After an hour's ride, we came to the enormous live oak distinguished as
_the Patriarch_. Two or three of the men dismounted, and held aside the
heavy moss-covered branches which swept the ground, and formed a
complete curtain round the tree. The party rode through the opening thus
made, and drew up in a circle beneath the huge leafy dome. In the centre
of this ring stood Bob, trembling like an aspen-leaf, and with his eyes
fixed on a small mound of fresh earth, partly concealed by the branches,
and which had escaped my notice on my former visit to the tree. It was
the grave of the murdered man.
A magnificent burial-place was that: no poet could have dreamt or
desired a better. Above, the huge vault, with its natural frettings and
arches; below, the greenest, freshest grass; around, an eternal half
light, streaked and varied, and radiant as a rainbow. It was imposingly
beautiful.
Bob, the judge, and the corregidors, remained sitting on their horses,
but several of the other men dismounted. One of the latter cut the lasso
from Bob's saddle, and threw an end of it over one of the lowermost
branches; then uniting the two ends, formed them into a strong noose,
which he left dangling from the bough. This simple preparation
completed, the Alcalde took off his hat and folded his hands. The others
followed his example.
"Bob!" said the judge to the unfortunate criminal, whose head was bowed
on his horse's mane; "Bob! we will pray for your poor soul, which is
about to part from your sinful body."
Bob raised his head. "I had something to say," exclaimed he, in a
wondering and husky tone. "Something I wanted to say."
"What have you to say?"
Bob stared around him; his lips moved, but no word escaped him. His
spirit was evidently no longer with things of this earth.
"Bob!" said the judge again, "we will pray for your soul."
"Pray! pray!" groaned he. "I shall need it."
In slow and solemn accents, and with great feeling, the judge uttered
the Lord's Prayer. Bob repeated every word after him. When it was
ended--
"God be merciful to your soul!" exclaimed the judge.
"Amen!" said all present.
One of the corregidors now passed the noose of the lasso round Bob's
neck, another bound his eyes, a third person drew his feet out of the
stirrups, while a fourth stepped behind his horse with a heavy
riding-whip. All was done in the deepest silence; not a word was
breathed; not a footfall heard on the soft yielding turf. There was
something awful and oppressive in the profound stillness that reigned in
the vast enclosure.
The whip fell. The horse gave a spring forwards. At the same moment Bob
made a desperate clutch at the bridle, and a loud "Hold!" burst in
thrilling tones from the lips of the judge.
It was too late, Bob was already hanging. The judge pushed forward,
nearly riding down the man who held the whip, and seizing Bob in his
arms, raised him on his own horse, supporting him with one hand, while
with the other he strove to unfasten the noose. His whole gigantic frame
trembled with eagerness and exertion. The procurador, corregidors, all,
in short, stood in open-mouthed wonder at this strange proceeding.
"Whisky! whisky! has nobody any whisky?" shouted the judge.
One of the men sprang forward with a whisky-flask, another supported the
body, and a third the feet, of the half-hanged man, while the judge
poured a few drops of spirits into his mouth. The cravat, which had not
been taken off, had hindered the breaking of the neck. Bob at last
opened his eyes, and gazed vacantly around him.
"Bob," said the judge, "you had something to say, hadn't you, about
Johnny?"
"Johnny," gasped Bob; "Johnny."
"What's become of him?"
"He's gone to San Antonio, Johnny."
"To San Antonio!" repeated the judge, with an expression of great alarm
overspreading his features.
"To San Antonio--to Padre Jose," continued Bob; "a Catholic. Beware!"
"A traitor, then!" muttered several.
"Catholic!" exclaimed the judge. The words he had heard seemed to
deprive him of all strength. His arms fell slowly and gradually by his
side, and Bob was again hanging from the lasso.
"A Catholic! a traitor!" repeated several of the men; "a citizen and a
traitor!"
"So it is, men!" exclaimed the judge. "We've no time to lose," continued
he, in a harsh, hurried voice; "no time to lose; we must catch him."
"That must we," said several voices, "or our plans are betrayed to the
Mexicans."
"After him immediately to San Antonio!" cried the judge with the same
desperately hurried manner.
"To San Antonio!" repeated the men, pushing their way through the
curtain of moss and branches. As soon as they were outside, those who
were dismounted sprang into the saddle, and, without another word, the
whole party galloped away in the direction of San Antonio.
The judge alone remained, seemingly lost in thought; his countenance
pale and anxious, and his eyes following the riders. His reverie,
however, had lasted but a very few seconds, when he seized my arm.
"Hasten to my house," cried he; "lose no time, don't spare horse-flesh.
Take Ptoly and a fresh beast; hurry over to San Felipe, and tell Stephen
Austin what has happened, and what you have seen and heard."
"But, judge"----
"Off with you at once, if you would do Texas a service. Bring my wife
and daughter back."
And so saying, he literally drove me from under the tree, pushing me out
with hands and feet. I was so startled at the expression of violent
impatience and anxiety which his features assumed, that, without
venturing to make further objection, I struck the spurs into my mustang
and galloped off. Before I had got fifty yards from the tree, I looked
round. The judge had disappeared.
I rode full speed to the judge's house, and thence on a fresh horse to
San Felipe, where I found Colonel Austin, who seemed much alarmed by the
news I brought him, had horses saddled, and sent round to all the
neighbours. Before the wife and step-daughter of the judge had made
their preparations to accompany me home, he started with fifty armed men
in the direction of San Antonio.
I escorted the ladies to their house, but scarcely had we arrived there,
when I was seized with a fever, the result of my recent fatigues and
sufferings. For some days my life was in danger, but at last a good
constitution, and the kindest and most watchful nursing, triumphed over
the disease. As soon as I was able to mount a horse, I set out for Mr
Neal's plantation, in company with his huntsman Anthony, who, after
spending many days, and riding over hundreds of miles of ground in quest
of me, had at last found me out.
Our way led up past the Patriarch, and, as we approached it, we saw
innumerable birds of prey, and carrion crows circling round it, croaking
and screaming. I turned my eyes in another direction; but, nevertheless,
I felt a strange sort of longing to revisit the tree. Anthony had ridden
on, and was already hidden from view behind its branches. Presently I
heard him give a loud shout of exultation. I jumped off my horse, and
led it through a small opening in the leafage.
Some forty paces from me the body of a man was hanging by a lasso from
the very same branch on which Bob had been hung. It was not Bob,
however, for the corpse was much too short and small for him.
I drew nearer. "Johnny!" I exclaimed "That's Johnny!"
"It _was_," answered Anthony. "Thank Heaven, there's an end of him!"
I shuddered. "But where is Bob?"
"Bob?" cried Anthony. "Bob!"
He glanced towards the grave. The mound of earth seemed to me larger and
higher than when I had last seen it. Doubtless the murderer lay beside
his victim.
"Shall we not render the last service to this wretch, Anthony?" asked I.
"The scoundrel!" answered the huntsman. "I won't dirty my hands with
him. Let him poison the kites and the crows!"
We rode on.
DEATH FROM THE STING OF A SERPENT.
As when a monstrous snake, with flaming crest,
Some wretch within its glittering folds has press'd--
He vainly struggles to escape its fangs,
The reptile triumphs, and the victim hangs
His head in agony, and bending low,
Feels the cursed venom through his life-blood flow.
On through his veins the burning poison speeds,
Drinks up his spirit--on his vitals feeds,
Till, tortured life extinct, the senseless clay
In hideous dissolution melts away.
M. J.
GIFTS OF TEREK.
TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN OF LERMONTOFF. BY T. B. SHAW.
Terek[21] bellows, wildly sweeping
Past the cliffs, so swift and strong;
Like a tempest is his weeping,
Flies his spray like tears along.
O'er the steppe now slowly veering--
Calm but faithless looketh he--
With a voice of love endearing
Murmurs to the Caspian sea:
"Give me way, old sea! I greet thee;
Give me refuge in thy breast;
Far and fast I've rush'd to meet thee--
It is tine for me to rest.
Cradled in Kazbek, and cherish'd
From the bosom of the cloud,
Strong am I, and all have perish'd
Who would stop my current proud.
For thy sons' delight, O Ocean!
I've crush'd the crags of Darial,
Onward my resistless motion,
Like a flock, hath swept them all."
Still on his smooth shore reclining,
Lay the Caspian as in sleep;
While the Terek, softly shining,
To the old sea murmur'd deep:--
"Lo! a gift upon my water--
Lo! no common offering--
Floating from the field of slaughter,
A Kabardinetz[22] I bring.
All in shining mail he's shrouded--
Plates of steel his arms enfold;
Blood the Koran verse hath clouded,
That thereon is writ in gold:
His pale brow is sternly bended--
Gory stains his wreathed lip dye--
Valiant blood, and far-descended--
'Tis the hue of victory!
Wild his eyes, yet nought he noteth;
With an ancient hate they glare:
Backward on the billow floateth,
All disorderly, his hair."
Still the Caspian, calm reclining,
Seems to slumber on his shore;
And impetuous Terek, shining,
Murmurs in his ear once more:--
"Father, hark! a priceless treasure--
Other gifts are poor to this--
I have hid, to do thee pleasure--
I have hid in my abyss!
Lo! a corse my wave doth pillow--
A Kazaichka[23] young and fair.
Darkly pale upon the billow
Gleams her breast and golden hair;
Very sad her pale brow gleameth,
And her eyes are closed in sleep;
From her bosom ever seemeth
A thin purple stream to creep.
By my water, calm and lonely,
For the maid that comes not back,
Of the whole Stanilza,[24] only
Mourns a Grebenskoi Kazak.
"Swift on his black steed he hieth;
To the mountains he is sped.
'Neath Tchetchen's kinjal[25] now lieth,
Low in dust, that youthful head."
Silent then was that wild river;
And afar, as white as snow,
A fair head was seen to quiver
In the ripple, to and fro.
In his might the ancient ocean,
Like a tempest, 'gan arise;
And the light of soft emotion
Glimmer'd in his dark-blue eyes;
And he play'd, with rapture flushing,
And in his embraces bright,
Clasp'd the stream, to meet him rushing
With a murmur of delight.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] A river which, rising on the eastern side of the ridge of
the Caucasus, falls, after a rapid and impetuous course, into the
Caspian, near Anapa.
[22] A mountaineer of the tribe of Kabarda.
[23] A Kazak girl.
[24] Village of Kazaks.
[25] Kinjal, a large dagger, the favourite weapon of the
mountain tribes of the Caucasus, among which the Tchetchenetzes are
distinguished for bravery.
MARSTON; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF A STATESMAN.