THE PLANT WORLD 117 



gotten into his garden and destroyed his corn. The owner of the pig 

 could prove that Anderson had killed it, but Anderson had been unable 

 to prove that this was the self-same pig that had ruined his garden patch. 

 So when an appeal was made to me to reverse the decision of the justice 

 of the peace I had declined to interfere. Moreover, the native justice, 

 Don Luis de Torres, an official quite recently appointed by us to take the 

 place of Don Justo Dungca, is a man of sterling qualities ; and I did not 

 wish his first official act to be discredited. We wish the natives to re- 

 spect the native authorities, who, at best, find it no agreeable task to 

 carry out the duties of their office ; so I felt it my duty to uphold 

 Don Luis in his decision. What was I to do ? I could not help feeling 

 sympathy for the distress of this man and his family. He bears an ex- 

 cellent reputation among his neighbors, but they say he has a proud 

 nature and is inclined to take the law into his own hands when he has 

 difficulties to settle. I realized that I had no business having any feeling 

 about the matter ; but here I was, feeling very foolish and uncomfortable, 

 simply because a youngster had come to me snivelling about his father. 

 When I looked down at the little fellow, however, with his tear-stained 

 face and his look of mute appeal, I could not resist. "Come along, little 

 man," I said. " I can not set your father free, but we can both go over 

 to the palace and ask the Senor Governor to grant him a pardon." So 

 hand in hand we crossed the plaza, and in a few minutes we stood before 

 the Governor. When I explained the situation, and, while commending 

 the justice of the peace for his zeal in carrying out the provisions of the 

 law, told the Governor that to my mind the man thought himself justified 

 in shooting the animal, and that one of the prerogatives of a Governor 

 was the right to pardon, the Governor drew himself up with great dignity, 

 and extending his right arm in a most dramatic manner exclaimed, "Let 

 him be pardoned ! " So I hastily wrote an order which he signed, and 

 a few minutes later we were over at the prison and the little boy was in 

 his father's arms. Anderson looked like a man of spirit, and it must 

 have been humiliating to him to have suffered imprisonment. He saluted 

 me in a most respectful manner, but before he went I thought it well to 

 let it be known that the act of the Governor in pardoning him should not 

 be construed into a reversal of the action of the justice of the peace, whose 

 authority and dignity we wished to have recognized by the natives. 



Sunday, December 24. — Captain Ingate, of the Marine Corps, died this 

 day. I could not bear to see him buried in the old grave-yard, where 

 the three poor fellows who preceded him are lying covered with wet 

 sand and human bones, so I offered a part of one of my ranches for a 

 cemetery, a beautiful spot near a clump of coconut palms on the edge of 

 the mesa overlooking the sea. I myself marked out the grave and had 

 the weeds cleared away. Ingate died in consequence of gangrene result- 



