Adventure Magazine Cover — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AN. 1, 1911—Well this is the day we swear off. Don Natividad Osuna and I swore off this morn- ing, for Benino crawled into the window during the night and stole the last bottle. It is forty miles to Moria, so we took the pledge. The Human Race is a good race—yet it generally loses the race— in Sinaloa. Don Natividad has sent for José Bobo, and he sends word that he will be here to- morrow. Joséisacharacter! In person he is very tall and very dark—sort of a cross between Jack Johnson, the pugilist, and four lengths of stovepipe. He is a full-blooded Indian by descent, being a distant relative of Montezuma. His character is somewhat like “‘Joseph’s coat”—a thing of many colors. Like Joseph, he is envied of his brethren; for he is the most double-dyed, artistic, and remarkable liar on the Pacific Coast. Jan. 2—José arrived about teno’clock A. mM. with a most engratiating smile. His wife, he said, was sick. This statement shows the inborn skill of José—whose wife is healthier than a brindle cow. Of course, he will now have to have ten or twelve dollars with which to hire a woman to nurse her during his absence. He also came barefooted and hatless. This means that he must be fur- nished these articles before we start out. It also means that his stories to Don Natividad about the gold-veins are lies, and that he is trying to collect beforehand—knowing that he will get nothing on his return. I have taken Don Natividad out in the orange grove and explained to hi.a my views about José’s conduct. He fully agreed with me, but said: ‘Ah, Don Juan, but I saw the We! Bis sss Bn fe ry a FUL VILLAIN Ay A. .Avirette gold in the rocks that he brought back!” I then gave it up, for Don Natividad is dense between the ears and is as credulous as a stock-buying “‘tenderfoot.”” What’s the use to convince a man against his will—o’ the Wisp? “Very well,” said I, “‘ you let him have the money and hat and J will pay him at the rate of fifty cents a day, all that his time amounts to, in excess of that.”’ We went back to the house and there José was given ten dollars, a nine-dollar hat, and a fifty-cent pair of leathern guarachas (sandals). He then went away, saying that he was going to take the money to his wife. He will prob- ably bury it under a stone, then hide in the woods until sufficient time has elapsed to cover his pretended trip. He never gave his wife a dollar in all her life, for he is a gen- uine Mexican peon. Jan. 3—José is back this morning. He says that his wife is slightly better, although still very ill. I winked at Don Natividad— who looked worried at my temerity. What if I should offend José and cause him to refuse to show the gold-veins? Some people could live thirty years in Washington, D. C., and still trust Mankind. One of these is Don Natividad. José is a liar and a rascal, but he is an en- gaging liar anda charming rascal. Yousee, I am now turning the medal over—to show the other side. José never gets tired. He has the endurance of a deer-hound, and is as good a trailer. He knows every trail and mountain spring within a hundred miles. He can out-nimrod Nimrod himself in hunt- ing, for he is an absolutely dead shot, and knows the habits, tastes and idiosyncrasies of all the “‘wild things.”’ He never forgets. 780 C© MICLOOOKS (©