TAMPICO ALTA. 



41 



perfect contrast to his comrade — a huge-boned, powerful 

 man, with strongly marked features, half shrouded by a 

 mass of tangled black locks ; and who, we all agreed, 

 would form the finest study in the world for a bandit. 

 We never liked him or his looks, or his deep churchyard 

 cough ; but necessity has no law. They were both 

 armed with rusty sabres ; and Juliano had, moreover, 

 stolen an unwieldy carbine from some dear confiding 

 friend of his, and was wont to speak most confidently of 

 his valour, and of the execution he was to perform in 

 case of our being attacked by banditti, which was all 

 along spoken of as a more than probable event. He had 

 thrown us into convulsions of laughter at the very outset, 

 at. Pueblo Viejo, by a preliminary discharge of the 

 mighty engine, which he had seen fit to indulge in pre- 

 vious to the real battle which he expected, when we saw 

 his diminutive person fairly overthrown by the recoil. 



Next in the train came Don Juan Espindola of Za- 

 cualtipan, the arriero ; whom we had hired with a train 

 of eight mules, to convey us and our baggage to the cap- 

 ital. He was a worthy man ; and true, faithful and 

 simple in manners, like most of his class. Our con- 

 fidence in him was well placed. 



The arriero is the carrier of New Spain, and the little 

 honesty and uprightness to be found in the country, seem 

 to have fallen exclusively to the share of those of his 

 rank and profession. The most precious commodities 

 are unhesitatingly delivered to his care, merely enclosed 

 in bags for conveyance to the coast, and the arriero 

 never fails to perform his contract. Espindola had come 

 down to Tampico, with a conducta ; and there we en- 

 gaged him for the return, with as many of his mules as 

 were necessary. The remainder were sent in advance 

 under his domestics or mozos, two of whom, however, 

 accompanied us on foot as whippers-in ; and fine, active 

 lads they were. In ihem the Indian blood predominated 

 over the European. The arriero had, with our concur- 

 rence, invited a certain friend of his, Don Gaetano, to 

 accompany us, and to take advantage of our escort. To 

 this arrangement we acceded w 7 ith the more readiness, 



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