-
Articles/Ads
Article Literature. ← Page 2 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
to the mule—happens to fall in with a drove of mules , he will , iu all probability , be kicked and lamed by his proud relatives . A horse , on the contrary , takes a distinguished position in a drove of mules . The latter crowd round him , ancl follow his movements , exhibiting a violent jealousy , ^ each striving to stand nearest to their high bred relative ; this instinct is employed to keep together the droves of mules , on a journey or at pasture , by putting a mare to the drove , with a bell round her neck
, ancl called the " bell mare "—by the Mexicans " la yegua madre " ( mother mare ) . This animal is led day and night by a cord ; and the whole drove is thus kept under control , and will not leave their queen . It is , therefore , very difficult to separate the drove . The man who leads the mare is instructed , in case of an attack from the Indians , to leap instantly upon the back of this animal and take refuge iu the waggon encampment , whither the drove is suro to follow him . Even if tho Indians succeed in separating from the drovethey find it difficult
any , to carry them off . The animals incessantly attempt to turn back , and the travellers are thus enabled to overtake the robbers aud recover the stolen animals . The Indians , in consequence , use every means to get possession of the mare ; and if they succeed in this , the whole drove is lost to their owners . If several horses are iu a drove of mules , the danger is that the latter becomes dispersed ; and this is the reason that , in these journeys , saddle horses are not allowed to go loose , but aro led bv a cord .
The following is only the beginning of the journey . By degrees the mules become more manageable , but the delay which the start occasions seems to be considerable to the last : — " It is impossible to describe the scene of the first harnessing of some hundred mules , until then quite wild , and whicli have never had a bit in their mouths , nor a saddle on their backs . Tho waggons are drawn up so as to form three fourths of a circlewhile thc left is the
, space open entrance to the court yard of this encampment . In the intervals between them the waggons are connected by a cord tied from wheel to wheel . The mules are driven into the court , when the entrance is also closed by a cord drawn across it . Two men , armed with whips , aro placed at this entrance , in order to drive back any of the mules whicli may attempt to leap over the cord or to creep under it . The Mexicans call this -encampmentwhich both for catching the animals
waggon , serves and as a place of protection from the Indians , a ' corral' —a word which signifies any yard or enclosed place where cattle are kept . The Anglo-Americans have changed the word into ' carrel . ' The reader may picture to himself two or three hundred wild mules crowded together in this space , with ten or fifteen men among them , each endeavouring to fling the lasso over the heads of the animals , one after another , to force the bit into their mouths , and to lead each to its place before , the waggon to whicli it has to
be harnessed . In a caravan of twenty or thirty waggons , this first attempt occupies the greater part of a day , leaving no time to get the waggons in motion . The mules well know the lasso , and strive to escape it in every way possible ; they crowd closely together , first on one side and then on another of the corral , their heads turned to the centre , and hidden as much as possible ; others thrust their heads under the waggons , or between the wheels , to prevent the lasso reaching their necks ; while againothers are even more cunningthey stand stock still
, ; , as if they were actually holding their necks patiently for the noose ; but the expression of their eye , fixed watehedly at the same time on the man with the lasso , betrays their cunning . The man now- whirls the cord , in serpentine coils , round and round over his head ; the noose flies hissing , with the precision of an arrow , to its object ; whilst the animal stands as if rooted to the spot , but making a small side motion of its head , and the lasso misses .
All these stratagems , however , are useless . Whilst the drove rush from side to side of the corral , oue mule after another feels the lasso twisted round its neck . Then it tears away madly into the midst of its companions , dragging the man who holds the eord from one side of the corral to the other . " A second and a third now come to his aid . The hard breathing of tlie half strangled animal is heard amidst all the uproar and confusion of the scene . At length the men succeed in drawing the end of the cord between the spokes of a wheeland the animal is
, graduall y brought nearer aud nearer to this point . As soon as it is close to the wheel , the cord is drawn round its body , ancl again pulled through the spokes , so that the whole body is brought into a noose . Thereupon the men endeavour to force the bit between its teeth , and just as they seem to have accomplished this , the animal in despair makes a last effort ; it throws itself on the ground , frees its legs by rolling over , jumps up , and with the noose still tightly drawn round its neck , disappears in tie thickest
of the drove . The chase now begins anew , until the animal has a second noose around its neck : half strangled , it is now flung on the ground and mastered by forcible means , until the bit is in its mouth , and the cord , with a second noose , fixed round its nostril . Upon this it is let out of the corral ; and now begins the attempt to put it to , ancl harness it to the waggon . The creature again makes the most violent struggles ; and , considering that in this manner ten animals are put to
every carriage , and that this operation goes ou in different parts of the corral , and before twenty or thirty waggons , the reader may form an "lea of the confusion ofthe whole scene . When trying to put them to , « ie animals entangle themselves in the harness , fling themselves on the gi-ound , trample upon aud kick one another , sometimes break loose and un oS with part of the harness , the Mexicans in pursuit mounted on ™ e swiftest horses in the caravan . The mule , with the draught chains
clattering at its heels , gallops madly ou till tlie noose is again round its neck , when it is brought in and harnessed anew . " When at length all the waggons are in readiness , the corral is opened ; the supernumerary animals are let out , with tbe bell mare , and the caravan is ready to start . The mules are now for the first time put to draught ; for the first time they feel the bridle and lash of the driver , who takes his place on the saddled mule .
" Fresh confusion 1 Here it is impossible to get the team to move ; there another team tries to run away with its waggon ; here one pair of mules make a desperate effort to advance , whilst a second pair holds back ; there the leaders turn sharp round , drag the next pair after it , and threaten to snap the axletree . Here an animal falls , there a chain , breaks . Amidst tho cracking of whips and shouting aud swearing of tha drivers , at last one team gets into a regular pace , when suddenly they strike off from the beaten roaddragging the waggon into a morass or
, wedging it fast betweeu-trees . The broken harness has to be mended , the waggon has to be dragged out of the morass , the tree standing in the way has to be felled : before all this is accomplished another waggon is in a similar plight ! jThus the day passes in the utmost fatigue and excitement , both to man aud beast , until , in tho evening , a new corral is formed , with great trouble , perhaps , scarcely a thousand yards distant from the former . The animals are unyoked , and driven to grass and wateraud the men after lighting their firessot about satisfying
then-, , hunger and thirst . \ " The next morning matters are somewhat improved : in many the obstinate nature of the animal is subdued , and the men have begun to learn their disposition . The yoking and harnessiug is accomplished in three or four hours , and the caravan succeeds in proceeding a few miles . Under the most favourable circumstances , however , the yoking a caravan
of twenty or thirty waggons takes at least an hour and a half . " Mr . Froebel furnishes us with an amusing sketch of a Nicaraguan doctor , Doctor Matagente , or men-killer as he was called by his compatriots—the said doctor having- jihmged in German metaphysics , and transferred them to the politics of Nicaragua : — " But he was of a metaphysical turn of mind , feeling himself greatly attracted by the mysteries of German philosophy , into which he had
been initiated by some French books that had found their way to Nicaragua . The ' Germans , ' he observed , ' have a great philosopher named Ichlejel , who has written a book bearing the title of ' Philosophy of Life . ' They have another great philosopher called Hegel , but this one is too difficult to be understood . ' ' Los Alemanes , ' he continued in an enthusiastic strain , ' son la nacion la mas soientifica , la mas filosifica , la mas profunda ? a compliment I was not prepared to hear paid , to tho German nation in these quarters of the world ; but ivhichconsidering
, that we had no man like Mr . Chatfield to make us respected in Central America , I thought a great consolation . The doctor ' s brother , the politician , is the author of several pamphlets printed in Nicaragua . In reading one of them , it struck me how schools and systems of philosophy , even without being understood , extend their iufluenoe over the world , and how even the most abstract metaphysician in Germany should never forget—and especially if he should have the misfortune of being translated into French—that he may cause some mischief in Nicaragua . The
Nicaraguan writer I am speaking of , the brother of the admirer of Schlegel and Hegel , is the author of an essay on the Nicaragua !! revolution , in which he quotes Tacitus aud Puffendorf , Aneillou and Vattel , Guizot and Louis Blanc , Madame cle Stael and Montesquieu , Lroz and Mattor , Necker and Mirabeau , and speaks of idealism and antagonism , aspirantism and dualism , proselytism , anachronism , and several other equally dangerous principles . '
The account of Mexico given by our traveller is very curious . The perpetual war raging there as one dictator is supplanted by another recalls to the mind of the classical student the struggles between the Greeks of the lower empire and the Mongols and Turks . There is , however , one very important custom , which more enlightened nations mig ht adopt with advantage , in the relation of insolvent debtor to the creditorthe latter claiming
, the services of the former , and the debtor , without compulsion , honorably renders them , as in the following scene : — " A respectable man in Temtisachic had from time to time bought goods of Don Guillermo iu Chihuahua , who had never hesitated to give him credit for a few hundred dollars , and the debt was always paid at the expiration of the term . The man died , and his son came to Chihuahua with a letter , written apparently by his dying father , in which kindness ho had
he requested the merchant to show his son the same displayed to him . Don Guillermo willingly granted the request , the young man took goods for a few hundred dollars ; three years elapsed , no payment was made , and nothing was heard of the young man , and now his creditor appears suddenly in Teradsnchic . 'Where does Natividad Anch-ada live ? ' asked Don Guillermo of the first person wo met as we rode into the village . ' There is his mother ' s house , ' was the answer . ' Is Natividad at home ? ' 'Nosir" 'Is he in the neighbourhood ? ' 'He
, . is in the village . ' ' Let him be called ; I must speak to him . ' In two minutes he came . He was a young man of more than middle height , well formed , and with good regular features , on whicli an irregular life now began to show its traces . ' Natividad , ' said Don Guillermo to him , ' as you have not come to mo , I have been obliged to come to you . Why have I never seen you again iu Chihuahua ] ' 'I was unable to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
to the mule—happens to fall in with a drove of mules , he will , iu all probability , be kicked and lamed by his proud relatives . A horse , on the contrary , takes a distinguished position in a drove of mules . The latter crowd round him , ancl follow his movements , exhibiting a violent jealousy , ^ each striving to stand nearest to their high bred relative ; this instinct is employed to keep together the droves of mules , on a journey or at pasture , by putting a mare to the drove , with a bell round her neck
, ancl called the " bell mare "—by the Mexicans " la yegua madre " ( mother mare ) . This animal is led day and night by a cord ; and the whole drove is thus kept under control , and will not leave their queen . It is , therefore , very difficult to separate the drove . The man who leads the mare is instructed , in case of an attack from the Indians , to leap instantly upon the back of this animal and take refuge iu the waggon encampment , whither the drove is suro to follow him . Even if tho Indians succeed in separating from the drovethey find it difficult
any , to carry them off . The animals incessantly attempt to turn back , and the travellers are thus enabled to overtake the robbers aud recover the stolen animals . The Indians , in consequence , use every means to get possession of the mare ; and if they succeed in this , the whole drove is lost to their owners . If several horses are iu a drove of mules , the danger is that the latter becomes dispersed ; and this is the reason that , in these journeys , saddle horses are not allowed to go loose , but aro led bv a cord .
The following is only the beginning of the journey . By degrees the mules become more manageable , but the delay which the start occasions seems to be considerable to the last : — " It is impossible to describe the scene of the first harnessing of some hundred mules , until then quite wild , and whicli have never had a bit in their mouths , nor a saddle on their backs . Tho waggons are drawn up so as to form three fourths of a circlewhile thc left is the
, space open entrance to the court yard of this encampment . In the intervals between them the waggons are connected by a cord tied from wheel to wheel . The mules are driven into the court , when the entrance is also closed by a cord drawn across it . Two men , armed with whips , aro placed at this entrance , in order to drive back any of the mules whicli may attempt to leap over the cord or to creep under it . The Mexicans call this -encampmentwhich both for catching the animals
waggon , serves and as a place of protection from the Indians , a ' corral' —a word which signifies any yard or enclosed place where cattle are kept . The Anglo-Americans have changed the word into ' carrel . ' The reader may picture to himself two or three hundred wild mules crowded together in this space , with ten or fifteen men among them , each endeavouring to fling the lasso over the heads of the animals , one after another , to force the bit into their mouths , and to lead each to its place before , the waggon to whicli it has to
be harnessed . In a caravan of twenty or thirty waggons , this first attempt occupies the greater part of a day , leaving no time to get the waggons in motion . The mules well know the lasso , and strive to escape it in every way possible ; they crowd closely together , first on one side and then on another of the corral , their heads turned to the centre , and hidden as much as possible ; others thrust their heads under the waggons , or between the wheels , to prevent the lasso reaching their necks ; while againothers are even more cunningthey stand stock still
, ; , as if they were actually holding their necks patiently for the noose ; but the expression of their eye , fixed watehedly at the same time on the man with the lasso , betrays their cunning . The man now- whirls the cord , in serpentine coils , round and round over his head ; the noose flies hissing , with the precision of an arrow , to its object ; whilst the animal stands as if rooted to the spot , but making a small side motion of its head , and the lasso misses .
All these stratagems , however , are useless . Whilst the drove rush from side to side of the corral , oue mule after another feels the lasso twisted round its neck . Then it tears away madly into the midst of its companions , dragging the man who holds the eord from one side of the corral to the other . " A second and a third now come to his aid . The hard breathing of tlie half strangled animal is heard amidst all the uproar and confusion of the scene . At length the men succeed in drawing the end of the cord between the spokes of a wheeland the animal is
, graduall y brought nearer aud nearer to this point . As soon as it is close to the wheel , the cord is drawn round its body , ancl again pulled through the spokes , so that the whole body is brought into a noose . Thereupon the men endeavour to force the bit between its teeth , and just as they seem to have accomplished this , the animal in despair makes a last effort ; it throws itself on the ground , frees its legs by rolling over , jumps up , and with the noose still tightly drawn round its neck , disappears in tie thickest
of the drove . The chase now begins anew , until the animal has a second noose around its neck : half strangled , it is now flung on the ground and mastered by forcible means , until the bit is in its mouth , and the cord , with a second noose , fixed round its nostril . Upon this it is let out of the corral ; and now begins the attempt to put it to , ancl harness it to the waggon . The creature again makes the most violent struggles ; and , considering that in this manner ten animals are put to
every carriage , and that this operation goes ou in different parts of the corral , and before twenty or thirty waggons , the reader may form an "lea of the confusion ofthe whole scene . When trying to put them to , « ie animals entangle themselves in the harness , fling themselves on the gi-ound , trample upon aud kick one another , sometimes break loose and un oS with part of the harness , the Mexicans in pursuit mounted on ™ e swiftest horses in the caravan . The mule , with the draught chains
clattering at its heels , gallops madly ou till tlie noose is again round its neck , when it is brought in and harnessed anew . " When at length all the waggons are in readiness , the corral is opened ; the supernumerary animals are let out , with tbe bell mare , and the caravan is ready to start . The mules are now for the first time put to draught ; for the first time they feel the bridle and lash of the driver , who takes his place on the saddled mule .
" Fresh confusion 1 Here it is impossible to get the team to move ; there another team tries to run away with its waggon ; here one pair of mules make a desperate effort to advance , whilst a second pair holds back ; there the leaders turn sharp round , drag the next pair after it , and threaten to snap the axletree . Here an animal falls , there a chain , breaks . Amidst tho cracking of whips and shouting aud swearing of tha drivers , at last one team gets into a regular pace , when suddenly they strike off from the beaten roaddragging the waggon into a morass or
, wedging it fast betweeu-trees . The broken harness has to be mended , the waggon has to be dragged out of the morass , the tree standing in the way has to be felled : before all this is accomplished another waggon is in a similar plight ! jThus the day passes in the utmost fatigue and excitement , both to man aud beast , until , in tho evening , a new corral is formed , with great trouble , perhaps , scarcely a thousand yards distant from the former . The animals are unyoked , and driven to grass and wateraud the men after lighting their firessot about satisfying
then-, , hunger and thirst . \ " The next morning matters are somewhat improved : in many the obstinate nature of the animal is subdued , and the men have begun to learn their disposition . The yoking and harnessiug is accomplished in three or four hours , and the caravan succeeds in proceeding a few miles . Under the most favourable circumstances , however , the yoking a caravan
of twenty or thirty waggons takes at least an hour and a half . " Mr . Froebel furnishes us with an amusing sketch of a Nicaraguan doctor , Doctor Matagente , or men-killer as he was called by his compatriots—the said doctor having- jihmged in German metaphysics , and transferred them to the politics of Nicaragua : — " But he was of a metaphysical turn of mind , feeling himself greatly attracted by the mysteries of German philosophy , into which he had
been initiated by some French books that had found their way to Nicaragua . The ' Germans , ' he observed , ' have a great philosopher named Ichlejel , who has written a book bearing the title of ' Philosophy of Life . ' They have another great philosopher called Hegel , but this one is too difficult to be understood . ' ' Los Alemanes , ' he continued in an enthusiastic strain , ' son la nacion la mas soientifica , la mas filosifica , la mas profunda ? a compliment I was not prepared to hear paid , to tho German nation in these quarters of the world ; but ivhichconsidering
, that we had no man like Mr . Chatfield to make us respected in Central America , I thought a great consolation . The doctor ' s brother , the politician , is the author of several pamphlets printed in Nicaragua . In reading one of them , it struck me how schools and systems of philosophy , even without being understood , extend their iufluenoe over the world , and how even the most abstract metaphysician in Germany should never forget—and especially if he should have the misfortune of being translated into French—that he may cause some mischief in Nicaragua . The
Nicaraguan writer I am speaking of , the brother of the admirer of Schlegel and Hegel , is the author of an essay on the Nicaragua !! revolution , in which he quotes Tacitus aud Puffendorf , Aneillou and Vattel , Guizot and Louis Blanc , Madame cle Stael and Montesquieu , Lroz and Mattor , Necker and Mirabeau , and speaks of idealism and antagonism , aspirantism and dualism , proselytism , anachronism , and several other equally dangerous principles . '
The account of Mexico given by our traveller is very curious . The perpetual war raging there as one dictator is supplanted by another recalls to the mind of the classical student the struggles between the Greeks of the lower empire and the Mongols and Turks . There is , however , one very important custom , which more enlightened nations mig ht adopt with advantage , in the relation of insolvent debtor to the creditorthe latter claiming
, the services of the former , and the debtor , without compulsion , honorably renders them , as in the following scene : — " A respectable man in Temtisachic had from time to time bought goods of Don Guillermo iu Chihuahua , who had never hesitated to give him credit for a few hundred dollars , and the debt was always paid at the expiration of the term . The man died , and his son came to Chihuahua with a letter , written apparently by his dying father , in which kindness ho had
he requested the merchant to show his son the same displayed to him . Don Guillermo willingly granted the request , the young man took goods for a few hundred dollars ; three years elapsed , no payment was made , and nothing was heard of the young man , and now his creditor appears suddenly in Teradsnchic . 'Where does Natividad Anch-ada live ? ' asked Don Guillermo of the first person wo met as we rode into the village . ' There is his mother ' s house , ' was the answer . ' Is Natividad at home ? ' 'Nosir" 'Is he in the neighbourhood ? ' 'He
, . is in the village . ' ' Let him be called ; I must speak to him . ' In two minutes he came . He was a young man of more than middle height , well formed , and with good regular features , on whicli an irregular life now began to show its traces . ' Natividad , ' said Don Guillermo to him , ' as you have not come to mo , I have been obliged to come to you . Why have I never seen you again iu Chihuahua ] ' 'I was unable to