Les chasseurs d'abeilles. English, Page 4

  CHAPTER IV.

  SUPERFICIAL REMARKS.

  The _haciendas_ of Spanish America were never feudal tenures,whatever certain badly informed authors may assert, but simply largeagricultural holdings, as their name clearly indicates.

  These _haciendas_, scattered over Mexico at great distances from eachother, and surrounded by vast stretches of country, for the greaterpart uninhabited, are generally situated on the top of abruptly risinghills, in positions easy of defence.

  As the _hacienda_, properly so called,--_i.e._ the habitation of theproprietor of the estate,--forms the nucleus of the colony, and, inaddition to the barns and stables, contains also the out houses, thelodgings of the _peones_, and, above all, the chapel, its walls arehigh, massive, and surrounded by a ditch, so as to put it out of dangerfrom a _coup-de-main._

  These numerous _haciendas_ frequently maintain from six to sevenhundred individuals of all trades, the lands belonging to a farm ofthis description being often of greater extent than a whole province inFrance.

  They are the wholesale breeding places of the wild horses and cattlethat graze at freedom in the prairies, watched over at a distance by_peones vaqueros_ as untamed as themselves.

  The Hacienda de las Norias de San Antonio--_i.e._ St. Anthony'sWells--rose gracefully from the summit of a hill covered with thickgroves of mahogany, Peru trees and _mesquites_, forming a belt ofevergreen foliage, the palish green of which contrasted agreeably withthe dead white of the lofty walls, crowned with _almenas_, a kind ofbattlement intended to announce the nobility of the proprietor of theholding.

  In fact, Don Pedro de Luna was what is called a _cristiano viejo_ (oldChristian), and descended in a direct line from the first Spanishconquerors, without a single drop of Indian blood having been infusedinto the veins of his ancestors. So, although after the Declaration ofIndependence the ancient customs began to fall into disuse, Don Pedrode Luna was proud of his nobility, and clung to the _almenas_ as marksof distinction which only noblemen were allowed to adopt in the time ofthe Spanish rule.

  Since the period when, in the suite of that genial adventurer, FernandoCortez, a Lopez de Luna had first put foot in America, the fortunes ofthis family, very poor and much reduced at that time--for Don Lopezliterally possessed nothing but his cloak and sword,--the fortunesof this family, we say, had taken an incredible flight upwards, andentered on a career of prosperity that nothing in time's course couldtrammel. Thus Don Pedro de Luna, the actual representative of thisancient house, was in the enjoyment of wealth, the amount of whichit would certainly have puzzled him to state,--wealth which had beenincreased still more by the property of Don Antonio de Luna, his elderbrother, who had disappeared more than twenty-five years after eventsto which we shall have to revert, and who it was supposed had perishedmiserably in the mysterious wilderness in the neighbourhood of the_hacienda_. It was likely that he had fallen a victim to the horriblepangs of hunger, or more probably into the hands of the Apaches, thoseimplacable enemies of the whites, on whom they ceaselessly wage aninveterate war.

  In short Don Pedro was the sole representative of his name, and hisfortune was immense. No one who has not visited the interior of Mexicocan figure to himself the riches buried in these almost unknownregions, where certain land owners, if they would only take the troubleto put their affairs in order, would find themselves five or six timesmore wealthy than the greatest capitalists of the old world.

  Now, although everything seemed to smile on the opulent _hacendero_,and although, to the world that looks beyond the surface, he seemedto enjoy, with every appearance of reason, an unalloyed happiness,nevertheless the deep wrinkles channelled in the forehead of Don Pedro,the mournful severity of his face, and his gaze often turned to heavenwith an expression of sombre despair, might give rise to the surmisethat the life all thought so happy was secretly agitated by a profoundsorrow, which the years, as they rolled on, augmented instead ofsolacing.

  And what was the sorrow? What storms had troubled the course of a lifeso calm on the surface?

  The Mexicans are the most forgetful people on earth. This certainlyarises from the nature of their climate, which is incessantlydistracted by the most frightful cataclysms. The Mexican, whose life ispassed on a volcano, who feels the soil incessantly trembling under hisfeet, only cares to live for today. For him yesterday no longer exists;tomorrow he may never see the sun rise; today is his all, for today ishis own.

  The inhabitants of the Hacienda de las Norias, incessantly exposed tothe inroads of their redoubtable neighbours the redskins, constantlyoccupied in defending themselves from their attacks and depredations,were still more forgetful than the rest of their countrymen of a pastin which they took no interest.

  The secret of Don Pedro's grief, if really such a secret existed, was,therefore, confined pretty nearly to his own breast; and as he nevercomplained,--never made allusion to the earlier years of his life,--surmise was impossible, and the ignorance of everyone on the subjectcomplete.

  One single being had the privilege of smoothing the anxious brow ofthe _hacendero_, and of bringing a languid and fleeting smile to hislips.

  It was his daughter. Dona Hermosa at sixteen was dazzlingly beautiful.The jet black arches of her brow, finely traced as with a pencil,enhanced the beauty of a forehead not too high and of a creamy white.Her large eyes, blue and pensive, contrasted harmoniously with hair ofebon hue, which curled about the delicate neck, and on which the sweetjasmines died away with pleasure.

  Short, like all Spanish women of her race, her figure was slender butwell knit. No smaller feet had ever pressed in the dance the greenswardof Mexico; no more delicate hand ever ransacked the dahlias of agarden. Her walk, easy, like that of all Creoles, was a serpentineand undulating motion, full of grace and of _salero_, as they say inAndalusia.

  This exquisite girl scattered mirth and joy over the _hacienda_,whose echoes from morning to night repeated lovingly the melodiousmodulations of her pellucid notes, the pure and fresh qualities ofwhich made the birds die of envy as they hid themselves under thefoliage of the _puerta_ (open court).

  Don Pedro idolised his daughter; he felt for her that passionate andboundless affection the immense power of which can only be understoodby those who are fathers in the true sense of the word.

  Hermosa, brought up at the _hacienda_, had only paid a few shortvisits, at long intervals, to the great centers of the MexicanConfederation. Their manners were entirely strange to her. Accustomedto lead the free and untrammelled life of a bird, and to express herthoughts aloud, her frankness and innocent simplicity were extreme,while her sweetness of temper made her adored by all the inhabitants ofthe _hacienda_, over whose welfare she watched with constant care.

  Nevertheless, owing to the peculiar kind of education she hadreceived,--exposed on this distant frontier to the frequent sound ofthe frightful war whoop of the redskins, and to be present duringhorrible scenes of carnage,--she had accustomed herself from an earlyage to look perils in the face, if not coldly, at all events with acourage and strength of mind scarcely to be expected in so delicate achild.

  In conclusion, the influence she exercised over all who approached herwas incomprehensible: it was impossible to know her without loving her,or without feeling a wish to lay down one's life for her.

  On several occasions, in the attacks made on the _hacienda_ by thoseferocious plunderers of the desert the Apaches and Comanches, somewounded Indians had fallen into the hands of the Mexicans. DonaHermosa, far from suffering these wretches to be maltreated, hadordered every care to be taken of them, and restored them to liberty assoon as their wounds were healed.

  From this course of action it resulted that the redskins by degreesrenounced their attacks upon the _hacienda_, and that the girl,attended by only one man--with whom we shall soon make the readeracquainted--unconcernedly took long rides in the wilderness, andoften, carried away by the ardour of the chase, rambled off to a greatdistance from the _hacienda;_ while the Indians who saw her pass notonly abstained
from injuring her, but laid no obstacles in her way. Onthe contrary, these primitive beings, having conceived a superstitiousveneration for her, contrived, while remaining out of sight themselves,to remove from her path any dangers she might otherwise haveencountered.

  The redskins, with that natural tone of poetry which distinguishesthem, had called her "the White Butterfly," so light and fragile didshe seem to them as she bounded like a frightened fawn through the tallprairie grasses, which hardly bent under her weight.

  One of her most favourite resting places in these excursions was a_rancho_, (a farm) seven or eight miles from the _hacienda._ The_rancho_, built in a charming situation and surrounded by fields welllooked after and carefully cultivated, was inhabited by a woman offifty and her son, a tall and handsome man of twenty-five or twenty-sixwith a proud eye and a warm heart, named Estevan Diaz. Na Manuela, asthey called the old woman, and Estevan had an affection for the girlwhich knew no bounds. Manuela had nursed Hermosa when an infant, andthe foster mother almost looked upon her young mistress as her ownchild, so deep was the love she bore her. The woman belonged to a classof domestics, now unhappily extinct in Europe, who form, as it werea part of the family, and are looked upon by their masters more asfriends than servants.

  It was under Estevan's escort that Hermosa took those long rides ofwhich we spoke above. These continual _tetes-a-tetes_ between a girl ofsixteen and a man of twenty-five, which in our hypocritical and prudishworld would be considered compromising, seemed very natural to theinhabitants of the _hacienda._ They knew the profound respect and loyalaffection which bound Estevan to his mistress, whom he had dandledon his knees when a child, and whose first steps he had supported.Hermosa, who was as laughing, playful, and teasing as most girls of herage, took very great pleasure in being with Estevan, whom she couldtorment and plague to her heart's delight without his ever attemptingto turn restive at the capricious vagaries of his young mistress. Didhe not endure all her caprices with a patience beyond praise?

  Don Pedro manifested an affectionate esteem for Manuela and her son. Hehad great confidence in both, and for the last two years had entrustedEstevan with the important post of _major-domo_--a post he shared, asfar as the land was concerned, with Luciano Pedralva, who, however, wasplaced under his orders.

  Thus Estevan Diaz and his mother were, next to the proprietor, thepersons of greatest account at the _hacienda_, where they were treatedwith infinite respect, not only on account of the post they occupied,but also for the sake of their character, which was duly appreciated byall.

  The Mexican _hacenderos_, whose properties are of immense extent, havea practice at certain times of the year of making a progress throughtheir estates, in order to cast over their holding that "eye of themaster" which, according to the favourite saying in Southern America,makes the crops ripen and the cattle fatten. Don Pedro never failedto undertake these tours, on which he was anxiously expected by theinferior persons in his employ, and by the _peones_ of the _haciendas_,to whom the casual presence of their master brought some temporaryalleviation of their miserable lives.

  In Mexico slavery, abolished in principle by the Declaration ofIndependence, no longer exists by right; but it exists _de facto_through the whole extent of the Confederation; and the following isthe adroit manner in which the law is eluded by the rich owners ofthe soil:--Every _hacienda_ necessarily employs a great number ofindividuals as _peones, vaqueros, tigreros,_ (herdsmen, hunters), &c.All these people are _Indios mansos_, or civilized Indians--that is tosay, they have been baptised, and practise, after their own fashion, areligion they will not take the trouble to understand, and which theymix up with most absurd and ridiculous customs derived from their oldcreeds.

  Brutalised by misery, the _peones_ hire themselves, at very moderatewages, to the _hacenderos_, for the sake of satisfying their twochief vices,--gambling and drunkenness. But as Indians are the mostthriftless beings in creation, their petty wages never suffice to feedand clothe them; and every day they are liable to die of hunger, ifthey cannot contrive to procure the ordinary necessaries of life fromsome source independent of their pay. It is when they have reached thisclimax that the rich proprietors trap them.

  The _capataz_ and _major-domo_ keep in every _hacienda_, by order oftheir master, stores filled with clothing, arms, household utensils,and so forth, which are open to the _peones_, who pawn their labour forthe needful articles advanced to them; the prices of the articles beingalways ten times their value.

  It follows, from this simple combination, that the poor devils of_peones_ not only never touch an infinitesimal fraction of the nominalwages allotted to them, but find themselves always on the debit sideof the _hacendero's_ balance sheet; and in a few months owe sums theycould not possibly pay off in a lifetime. As the law is positive inthese cases, the _peones_ are compelled to remain in the serviceof their masters until, by their labour, this debt is liquidated.Unfortunately for them, their necessities are so imperious at alltimes, their position so precarious, that, after a life spent inincessant toil, the _peones_ die insolvent. They have lived as slaves,fatally, _adscripti glebae_, shamelessly worked, without mercy, downto their latest sigh, by men whom their sweat and their labour haveenriched tenfold.

  Dona Hermosa, good natured, as girls usually are when brought up inthe bosom of their families, generally accompanied her father in theseannual progresses, and pleased herself by leaving bounteous marks ofher welcome visit with the poor _peones_.

  This year, as in the preceding ones, she had attended Don Pedro deLuna, signalizing her visit to each _rancho_ by relieving, in some wayor other, the infirm, the old, and the children.

  About forty-eight hours before the day on which our story commences,Don Pedro had left a silver mine he was working some leagues off inthe desert, and set off for Las Norias de San Antonio. When he had gotwithin twenty leagues of the _hacienda_, he felt convinced that hisescort was not needed so near his own property, and sent forward DonEstevan and the armed retainers to announce his return, keeping withhim only the _capataz_, Luciano Pedralva, and three or four _peones_.

  Don Estevan had tried to dissuade his master from remaining in thedesert almost single-handed, pointing out to him that the Indianfrontiers were infested by freebooters and marauders of the vilestkind, who, skulking among the thickets, would be upon the watch for anopportunity of attacking his little band; but, by a singular fatality,Don Pedro, convinced that he had nothing to fear from these vagabonds,who had never exhibited signs of hostility towards him, had insisted onthe _major-domo's_ departure, and the latter had been forced to obey,although with reluctance.

  The escort rode off; the _hacendero_ quietly continued his road,chatting with his daughter, and laughing at the sinister presentimentsclouding the face of the _major-domo_ when he took leave of his master.

  The day slipped away without anything happening to confirm themisgivings of Don Estevan; no accident interrupting the monotonousregularity of the march; no suspicious sign excited the fears of thetravellers. The desert was at peace; as far as the eye could reach,nothing was to be seen but some straggling herds of elks and antelopes,browsing on the tall and tufted grasses of the prairie.

  At sunset Don Pedro and his companions had reached the outskirts of animmense virgin forest, part of which they would have to cross to reachthe _hacienda_, now about a dozen leagues off.

  The _hacendero_ resolved to encamp for the night at the edge of thecovert, hoping to reach Las Norias early on the morrow, before thegreat heat of the day set in.

  In a short time everything was arranged; a hut of branches was puttogether for Dona Hermosa; fires were lit, and the horses securelytethered, to prevent their straying during the night.

  The travellers supped gaily; after which everyone laid down to sleep ascomfortably as he could manage.

  However, the _capataz_, a man trained to Indian artifices, thought itprudent not to neglect a single precaution to secure the repose ofhis companions. He placed a sentry, to whom he recommended the utmostvig
ilance, and saddled his horse, with the intention of making areconnaissance round the camp.

  Don Pedro, already half asleep, raised his head, and asked DonLuciano what he intended to do. When the _capataz_ had explained, the_hacendero_ burst out laughing, and peremptorily ordered him to leavehis horse to feed in peace, and to lay himself down by the fire, inorder to be ready to resume the journey at break of day. The _capataz_shook his head, but obeyed; he could not understand the conduct of hismaster, who was usually so prudent and circumspect.

  The truth was, that Don Pedro, impelled by one of those inexplicablefatalities which, without apparent reason, often make the mostintelligent blind, was convinced that he had nothing to fear sonear his home, and almost on his own territory, from the rovers andmarauders of the frontiers, who would think twice before they attackeda man of his importance, having the means in his power to make them paydearly for any attempt upon his person. Nevertheless, the _capataz_,agitated by a secret uneasiness, which kept him awake in spite ofhis efforts to sleep, determined to keep good watch during the night,notwithstanding the injunctions of his master.

  As soon as he saw Don Pedro decidedly asleep, he rose softly, took hisrifle, and crept stealthily towards the forest to reconnoitre; but hehad scarcely quitted the circle of light formed by the watch fire, andadvanced a few paces into the covert, than he was suddenly and rudelyseized by invisible hands, thrown on the ground, gagged, and bound withcords; and with such expedition, that he could neither use his arms norutter a cry of warning to his companions.

  But, in strange contrariety to the tragical usages of the prairie, thepersons who had so abruptly mastered the _capataz_ subjected him to noill usage, contenting themselves with binding him firmly, so as to putthe possibility of the slightest resistance out of the question, andleaving him stretched upon the ground.

  "My poor mistress!" sighed the worthy fellow as he fell, withoutindulging a thought for himself.

  He remained in this position for a length of time, listening greedilyto every sound in the desert, expecting every instant to hear criesof distress from Don Pedro and Dona Hermosa. But not a cry was heard:nothing disturbed the calm of the wilderness, over which the silence ofdeath seemed brooding.

  At last, after twenty or twenty-five minutes, someone threw a _zarape_over his face, most likely with the intention of preventing anyrecognition of his assailants; he was lifted from the ground with acertain degree of precaution, and two men carried him in their arms tosome considerable distance.

  The situation became more complicated every moment. In vain the_capataz_ racked his mind to divine the intentions of his captors. Thelatter uttered not a word, and glided over the ground with light andnoiseless steps, as if they were spectres. The generality of Mexicansare fatalists. The _capataz_, recognizing the futility of a struggle,philosophically consoled himself for what had happened, and patientlyawaited the result of this singular scene.

  He had not long to wait for the issue. His unknown captors, havingprobably reached the intended spot, halted and laid the _capataz_ onthe ground, after which everything round him grew calm and silent again.

  At the end of several minutes he determined on an attempt to recoverhis liberty, and made a desperate effort to break his bonds. But hereagain a fresh surprise was reserved for him: the cords which bound him,and which were so fast a minute before, broke after a slight resistance.

  The _capataz's_ first impulse was to lift the _zarape_ which coveredhis face, and free himself from the gag. He next looked about him toreconnoitre, and to find out what had become of his companions, anduttered a cry of astonishment and fright on seeing Dona Hermosa, herfather, and the _peones_ stretched on the ground close by, gagged as hehad been, and their heads muffled in _zarapes_.

  The _capataz_ hastened to the relief of his mistress and Don Pedro,after which he severed the cords which bound the _peones_.

  The place to which the travellers had been transported by theirinvisible aggressors was completely dissimilar to the site chosen forthe camp. They were in the midst of a thick forest, where at an immenseheight above their heads, the gigantic trees formed a green vault,almost impenetrable to the light of day. The horses and baggage of thetravellers had vanished. Their position was frightful, deserted as theywere in the virgin forest without provisions or horses. Every hope ofsafety was gone, and a terrible death, after horrible sufferings staredthem in the face.

  It is impossible to describe the despair of Don Pedro. He acknowledged,when it was too late, the folly of his conduct. He fixed his weepingeyes on his daughter with an expression of unspeakable tendernessand sorrow, accusing himself as the sole cause of the evil that hadoverwhelmed them. Dona Hermosa was the only one who did not give wayto despair in these critical circumstances. After trying to raise thecourage of her father by tender and consoling words, she was the firstto speak of quitting the place and endeavouring to find the road theyhad lost.

  The courage which sparkled in the eye of the daughter reanimated theenergy of her father and the rest. If she did not succeed in revivinghope in their breasts, at all events she aroused in them sufficientspirit to encounter the necessary struggle before them. The final wordsof this young creature put a stop to all hesitation, and completed thehappy reaction she had excited in their minds.

  "Our friends," said she, "on finding we do not arrive, will suspectour misfortune, and devote themselves immediately to a search for us.Don Estevan, to whom all the secrets of the wilderness are known, willinfallibly recover our trail. Our position, therefore, is far fromdesperate. Let us not abandon ourselves, if we do not wish God toabandon us. Let us go: soon I hope we shall find our way out of theforest, and see the sun once more."

  So they began their march.

  Unfortunately it is impossible to find the right direction in a virginforest, unless we are well acquainted with the localities,--theforests, where all the trees are alike, where there is no visiblehorizon, and where the only available knowledge is the instinct of thebrute, not the reason of man. Thus the travellers wandered at randomthe whole day long, always turning, without knowing it, in the samecircle, travelling far without advancing, and vainly seeking to find aroad which was not in existence.

  Don Pedro endeavoured to discover a reason why the men who hadstolen their horses should have abandoned them in this inextricablelabyrinth; why they had been thus callously condemned to an agonisingdeath; and who the enemy might be who had cruelly conceived a plan ofsuch atrocious revenge. But the _hacendero_ racked his brains in vainfor even a surmise. His mind suggested no one on whom suspicion couldrest as the probable author of this unqualified crime.

  All the morning the travellers continued their devious course: the sunwent down, the day gave way to night, and they were still toiling on,wandering mechanically without any fixed direction, now to the right,now to the left; struggling on more in the endeavour to escape fromtheir thoughts by physical fatigue, than in the hope of emerging fromthe forest--their horrible prison.

  Dona Hermosa uttered no complaint. Cool and resolute, she pushedforward with a firm step, encouraging her companions by voice andgesture, and still finding spirit enough to chide and shame them fortheir want of perseverance.

  All of a sudden she uttered a cry of pain. She had been bitten by asnake. This fresh misfortune, which should have apparently completedthe travellers' despair, on the contrary, excited them to such a pitch,that they forgot all else, except how to think for and to save her whomthey called their guardian angel.

  But human strength has limits, beyond which it may not go. Thetravellers, overcome by fatigue and their poignant emotions duringtheir wanderings, and convinced, besides, of the inutility of theirefforts, were on the point of yielding to their despair, when Godplaced them suddenly face to face with the hunter.