28 THE RANCHERO HIS CHARACTER AND HABITS. 



head by a lepero in a dense crowd; but the act was so adroitly 

 done, that the jolly foreigner joined in the shout of laughter with 

 which the hero was hailed as he vanished among the masses. 

 Should the priest pass at such a moment with the host, on his way 

 to the chamber of a dying citizen, the lepero would fall on his 

 knees with the rest of the townspeople, yet whilst he beat his 

 breast with one hand, he might be seen to keep the other tena- 

 ciously in his victim's pocket. If caught in the felonious act, which 

 rarely happens, the lepero takes the inflicted blows or choking with 

 craven humility, and, whilst he shouts — u ya esta, Senor amo, — • 

 ya estaV "enough, my master, oh enough!" he is seeking for 

 another opportunity to pilfer his punisher's watch or purse, during 

 the conflict. 



Such is the Mexican lepero. The sketch may seem broad or 

 even caricatured to those who are unacquainted with the country, 

 but its accuracy will be acknowledged by all who have resided in 

 Mexico and been haunted by the filthy tribe. 



The Ranchero comes next in our classification of the Mexi- 

 cans. He is a small farmer, or vaquero, who owns or hires a few 

 acres on which he cultivates his corn or grazes his cattle. He is 

 not an Indian, a white man, an African, or a lepero, yet he mixes 

 the qualities of all in his motly character. He is a person of lofty 

 thoughts and aspirations; — a devoted patriot; — a staunch fighter 

 in all the revolutions whenever guerillas are required ; — a hard 

 rider and capital boon companion over a bottle or in a journey 

 among the mountains. 



On his small estate he devotes himself to the cultivation of the 

 ground, or leaves this menial occupation to his family whilst he 

 goes off to the wars or to carousals and fandangos in the neighbor- 

 ing village pulquerias. He is an Arab in his habits, and especially 

 in his love and management of the horse. Dressed in his leather 

 trowsers and jerkin; with his serape over his shoulders, his broad 

 brimed and silver corded sombrero on his head; his heels armed with 

 spurs whose three-inch rowels gleam like the blades of daggers ; his 

 sword strapped to the saddle beneath his armas de agua, and, grasp- 

 ing his gun in his hand, — the Ranchero is ready, as soon as he 

 mounts, to follow you for months over the republic. He is the 

 nomade of the country, as the lepero is of the town. His devotion 

 to his animal is unbounded. The faithful quadruped is his best 

 friend and surest reliance. His lazo lies curved gracefully in fes- 

 toons around the pommel of his saddle. Thus, with his trusty 



