valuable cargoes, from silks to gold,
in a country, too, where crime in its worst forms is rife, and where
detection is vain, they still appear a distinct race from their thievish
countrymen, and preserve an integrity seldom met with.

At the first blush of morn, the encampment was astir. Calling and
whistling to the mules, the sagacious brutes came regularly to the spot
where their pack was deposited, were in turn loaded, and sent on after
the bell mules in advance. Meanwhile, the drivers prepared a hasty
breakfast, which was hastily eaten--the cigarillo lighted, and off they
trotted after their beasts. A good day's journey is six leagues--resting
during the heat of the day.

I stood gazing at them until they disappeared in the dim light of
morning; then, by the embers of their fires, my guide boiled a small
measure of coffee in a broken earthen pot found near by, when we put
foot in stirrup, and came on in the opposite direction. We rode rapidly
to Puente Calderon, a small village at the foot of an abrupt elevation,
with a noisy torrent dashing its turbid waters against the stone arches
of the bridge. It was the spot where was fought one of the bloodiest
revolutionary battles between the republican and royalist forces.
Dismounting at a rude dwelling fronting the shelving, rocky street, with
_Meson de la Patria_ chalked over the entrance, we entered the patio,
where was standing a huge, ungainly vehicle--a kind of family van, drawn
by nine stout mules--while beneath the portals of the inn-yard were half
a dozen juveniles and a couple of staid, portly parents. _Para servir
ustedes_, quoth I, _Pase vd bien_, murmured the party; _Vamonos
almorzar!_ and accordingly I sat down on a saddle and partook of their
hospitality. The family were destined to Guadalajara from a two months
sojourn on their plantations, and were as ignorant of what was going on
in the world as a fish under water. Indeed, in this particular, they
were not singular examples; and the ignorance of the peasantry was
almost incredible. I frequently met individuals in the Western
provinces, who, though they had heard of the war, had not the slightest
conception with whom--_unos gringos_--some foreigners, they would
say--and as for the simple information regarding short distances from
place to place, or the nature of the road, and such trifling matters, it
defied the most acute cross-examinations.

The conversation at our breakfast ran upon the war, and revo