The Cotton-Pickers

by B. Traven
From the 1969 edition published by Hill and Wang.
Song of the Cotton-Pickers
Cotton is worn by king and prine!
"illionaire and president!
But the lowly otton#piker
$weats to earn eah bloody ent.
%et going to the otton &ield!
The sun is moving up and up.
$ling on your sak!
Tighten your belt'
(isten! the sales are turning.
(ook at the &ood ) get to eat'
Beans and hile! tortilla#bread'
*nd the sarerow shirt ) swiped!
Torn by bush and pathed with shreds.
%et going to the otton &ield!
The sun is moving on and on.
$ling on your sak!
Tighten your belt'
(isten! are the sales begging+
Cotton sells at soaring pries!
But ) ain,t got a deent shoe.
"y pants hang down in ragged threads!
Here and there my butt shows through.
%et going to the otton &ield!
The sun limbs high too soon.
$ling on your sak!
Tighten your belt'
(isten! are the sales bossing+
-n my head a straw sombrero!
.iked in when ) got beat.
But ) ouldn,t pik without it
Bending in the burning heat.
%et going to the otton &ield!
The sun is aiming high.
$ling on your sak!
Tighten your belt'
Hey! are the sales trembling+
),m /ust a lousy vagabond!
$ee! that,s the way they made me be!
*nd there,s no otton rop &or you
0nless it,s piked by bums like me.
"arh1'in otton#piking ranks
Beneath the &iring sun1
-r &ill your saks with roks'
Hear! are the sales breaking+
Book One
1
The train that had brought me to this &orlorn#looking little plae had /ust le&t and ) was standing on
the station plat&orm looking around in searh o& someone who might be able to tell me what ) so
very urgently needed to know.
2veryone looked so utterly depressing. There were some peasants in white ottons o& many
washings walking about on the plat&orm and sitting on the ground alongside. The women had their
arms &ull o& hildren and were surrounded by a do3en more holding on to their mothers, skirts! with
e4pressions o& &ear and wonder written all over their young &aes! whih were overed with halky
dust.
While ) was lost in e4amining the landsape! and trying to make up my mind whom to approah &or
the very muh wanted in&ormation! ) suddenly reali3ed that someone had stopped abruptly lose in
&ront o& me! his nose almost touhing the point o& mine. )nstintively ) stepped bak a &ew inhes
and saw it was a very tall and heavily built 5egro! who was addressing me6 7"ister! an you maybe
tell me whih diretion to take to a nearby ranh owned by a &armer alled "r. $hine+7
7What do you want to see that "r. $hine &or+7 ) blurted out. )n the same moment ) regretted that
e4plosion o& mine. The sudden nearness o& the &ellow had aught me in the very midst o& a hard
thinking proess intimately onneted with the hopeless state o& my present eonomi situation.
*nd so as to have that giant blak &ellow thinking better o& me and my harater ) added rapidly6
7$ee here! &riend! that "r. $hine you mention is preisely the very same person ) mysel& have ome
to this god&orsaken village to see.7
7*lso beause o& otton! "ister+7 he asked.
7*lso beause o& otton! whih ) want to help him harvest! or let,s more orretly all it! to pik.7
We were still looking at eah other unertainly! obviously not knowing what else to say or to do!
when up trotted rather haltingly a little Chinaman with a &riendly grin all over his &ae 8even both
his ears seemed to grin9. 7%ood molning! aballelos! gentlemen!7 he greeted us. 7Can you pelhaps!
kind paldon! tell me the way to'7
Here he stopped! &umbled in the breast poket o& his snow#white ollarless shirt! pulled out a bit o&
notepaper! un&olded and handed it to us! and! never losing his bright grin! started to read the line
sribbled on it6 7)4tli :7
7$top!7 ) halted him. 7;ou might get a knot in your tongue i& you go on trying to pronoune the
name o& that plae. The name is )4tli4ohiuauhtepe! am ) right or am )+7
7<el&etly ollet! se=ol! it,s e4atly the name.7
7Well then!7 ) said! 7your problems will be solved now! beause that,s e4atly the very plae we
also are headed &or. $o! &riend! welome. ;ou may /oin us.7
)4tli ... )& only ) had the &aintest idea where that village! or ranher>a! whatever it might be! ould be
&ound. To the north+ To the south or west+ Well now! let,s see! there must be somewhere around
this railroad depot somebody who knows where to &ind that plae with suh a tongue#twisting *3te
name.
The people loitering on the plat&orm were )ndios and "esti3os! e4ept &or another 5egro. He was as
blak as the giant one by my side but a &oot shorter and very lightly built. How long he had been
standing there alulating our threesome ) don,t know! but when he aught my eye he approahed us
with a sure step.
7"ister!7 he said! 7ould you by any hane tell me the whereabouts o& a "r. $hine! a otton
&armer+ They tol, me in Tampio he,s lookin, &or hands to help with his otton rop and ),d &ind him
near to this here railroad station.7
7Well1 His whereabouts is e4atly what we,d like to know. We,re also looking &or that otton &arm.
Come along with us.
7Thanks a lot! &ellers. %lad to have ompany in this bush. "ighty happy to be aompanied in this
part o& the ountry! where you meet! ) been tol,! all sorts o& wil, beasts! tigers! leopards.7
We were now sort o& an organi3ed group &or the long or short trip ' we didn,t know whih. That
was how matters stood when a man ame up whom ) /udged to be a "esti3o &rom the way he was
dressed. He had slung about his upper body a red! tattered! &ormless piee o& oarse#wool blanket
and he wore the ustomary white! sloppy wide#brimmed bast hat ' or was it reed+ His bron3e#
brown &ae was overed by a growth o& beard. He was middle#aged! o& medium build! slender but
doubtless a man used to hard work. His beat#up dirty tennis shoes had one upon a time been white.
) remembered ) had seen this man on the train! traveling in the same ar whih ) had hosen to ome
here.
$rutini3ing our little assembly! as i& searhing &or someone among us whom he might perhaps
know! he deided to put his ?uestion to me6 7Buenos dias! se=or! are you perhaps "r. $hine+7
75o!7 ) said! 7),m not "r. $hine! but ),m here to meet him somewhere in this neighborhood.7
7)s this the plae+7 $o saying he produed a srap o& muddy paper torn &rom a newspaper! on whih
was sribbled6 )4tli4ohiuauhtepe.
7;es! that,s the plae! amigo. We,re going! there@ so i& you wish to ome along with us! bienvenido!
you are invited.7
75othing better ould have happened to me. "uhas graias! mil! mil graias. ),ll be only too
grate&ul to be in your ompany. *gain! many! many thanks.7 He bowed with the innate ourtesy o&
a "e4ian.
Then he turned slightly around! &ingering his beard! undeided as to what to do or say ne4t. $eeing
him turn aside like that gave me the idea that we had better start going now and right away! or a
do3en more people in need o& a /ob might try to /oin us.
$ure enough! another "e4ian ame leisurely walking up. He was not a "esti3o like the previous
one@ this was a "e4ian o& pure )ndian stok! dressed in very lean white otton! &or shoes the loal
huarahes ' no soks! o& ourse ' and arrying over his shoulder a beauti&ul blanket in bright
olors! a so#alled sarape! as well as a small bundle rolled inside a reed mat. He /ust stood there
looking at us! not saying a word.
75eed any help+7 ) asked in $panish.
7$i! se=or. Ao you know the way to )4tli4ohiuauhtepe+7 * true son o& the land! he had no
di&&iulty pronouning the name o& the plae.
75o!7 ) answered! 7but ),m /ust about to &ind out. .eep lose to us! i& you wish@ we,re all going
otton#piking at si4 entavos a kilo. *s soon as we &ind out whih way to go to "r. $hine,s &arm!
we,ll get started.7
%et started1 )& only ) knew whih way to go.
The station meanwhile! ten minutes a&ter the one train o& the day had departed! had emptied and lay
drowsy and deserted in the tropial heat! as only a station in this part o& *meria an. The mail bag!
whih looked all bag and no mail! had already been arried o&&. The goods ' a &ew ases o&
merhandise! two drums o& kerosene! &ive rolls o& barbed wire! a bag o& sugar ' were lying still
unlaimed on the blistering hot plat&orm.
The wooden shak where tikets were sold and luggage was weighed had been padloked. The man
responsible &or the o&&iial duties had le&t the station be&ore the last ar had gone by. 2ven the little
old )ndian woman who! like her ounterparts at all the village depots o& the ountryside! appeared at
every train arrival with her reed basket ontaining tortillas and two bottles o& old o&&ee! even she
was already a &air distane away! slipping through the tall grass toward home. $he was always the
last to leave the plat&orm. *lthough she never sold anything! she ame every day to meet the train.
The o&&ee she brought to the station was probably the same &or weeks on end. 2vidently the
travelers suspeted this@ otherwise they might have given the old woman a hane to earn
something now and then! espeially in that heat. But anyhow the ie water that was available on the
trains &ree o& harge put the old woman,s old o&&ee right out o& business.
"y &ive ompanions had seated themselves happily on the ground near the wooden shak ' in the
shade@ though it must be admitted that! as the sun was standing vertially above us! it took a man o&
some e4periene to disover where the shade atually was.
Time did not matter to them@ and sine they knew that ) wanted to go where they wanted to go they
le&t the reonnaissane to me. Without &ormal eletion ) had beome the leader o& our little group.
They would go when ) went! and not be&ore@ and they would &ollow me even i& ) took them to
*rgentina.
There was not a house to be seen anywhere near the station. (ooking o&& in the diretion taken by
the last group o& departing natives! whom ) ould see still making their way through the grass! )
suggested to my ompanions that we &ollow them! with the idea that they might lead us into the
town or diret us to it.
)t didn,t take us long to ath up with them. 75ever heard o& a &arm or a plae by that name! se=or!7
they answered when ) approahed them. 7But ome along with us. $urely in the town someone will
know the way.7
We soon reahed the village. The dwellings there were rude huts surrounded by banana plants and
tall mango trees whih! although never tended in these regions! bear great ?uantities o& &ruit. The
little &ields were sown with mai3e and beans well beyond the needs o& the &ew people there.
)t would have been ?uite pointless to go to one o& these huts and ask the way to )4tli.... )& these
people gave an answer at all! it would be an unreliable one. 5ot that they would deliberately
mislead us! but out o& sheer politeness they would want to give a pleasant answer and avoid the
neessity o& saying 7) don,t know.7
Besides the huts! there were two wooden buildings in the village. )n one o& them! our &riends
pointed out! lived the stationmaster! o& whom we should ask the way@ the other was a poolroom.
) went to the stationmaster,s house! but he did not know where )4tli ... was. He added politely that
he had never heard o& the plae but! then! he,d only reently been trans&erred to this town. $o )
walked over to the poolroom! where ) &ound an intelligent#looking man inside idly leaning against a
pool table. He greeted my entrane with an inviting smile.
7$iento muho! se=or!7 he answered my ?uestion! 7),m aw&ully sorry to disappoint you! but despite
my living here &or the last &ive years ),ve never heard o& that plae. By all means it has a very
unommon name as &ar as our state is onerned. 5ow! se=or! ) don,t want to appear impolite! but i&
you don,t mind telling me what your business is at that village! i& it is a village! that /ust might tikle
my memory and give me a tip to that partiular plae among the many ) know. ;ou see! then )
might be able to help you out in your trouble.7
75ow here we ome perhaps loser to a solution. ),m interested in otton! so! then! it must be a plae
where otton is grown.7
He brightened up visibly! apparently relieved that he ould help me. ) had /udged him &rom the &irst
to be the good#neighbor type.
7$ine you mention otton! se=or! ) remember that about three years or so ago there arrived here
one day a line o& heavy truks loaded to the top with bales o& &reshly harvested otton! bringing it to
this depot &rom where it would be taken by train to the nearest port. ) understood it was to be loaded
on ships and taken to 2urope or one o& those &oreign ountries with a ra3y name. They all ame
&rom that diretion.7
With this he waved an arm vaguely! muh as a huge bird would &lap its wing as it tried to li&t itsel&
into the air. The diretion indiated by his waving! rolling arm ould have been to the north as well
as to the west or the east. However! it indiated at least one diretion whih positively should not be
taken.
7How &ar do you think it might be to that plae where these people ame &rom+7
7Far as ) an remember these gringos saying! beause you should know that they are all gringos
holding those lands! they had le&t by si4 in the morning and when they arrived here it was noon. $o
you an &igure out &or yoursel& the distane! onsidering that there,s no road and they surely had to
ut their way through the bush with a mahete ' ertainly not an easy way to travel. 5ot so
unlikely a &ew traes o& that road they ut might still be visible enough to &ollow.7
7%raias mil vees! se=or!7 ) broke out happily! 7thank you a thousand times. ;ou ertainly did me
a great &avor at a moment when ) &elt as though the world were sinking under my &eet.7 ) shook his
hands vehemently and did so /oy&ully.
75ow we,re &inally getting somewhere!7 ) told mysel& over and over again! walking bak to where )
had le&t the group o& hungry /ob#seekers! o& whom ) was the hungriest! to tell the truth.
We deided to leave right away and go as &ar as we ould be&ore sunset! a&ter whih it would be
ne4t to impossible to disover and &ollow the traes o& the road that might still be there! as that good
man in the poolroom had indiated.
2
$o o&& we marhed in good enough spirits. The si4 o& us &elt as happy in one another,s ompany as
brothers who had une4petedly met in some strange out#o&#the#way plae a&ter a long separation.
*bove us the sorhing tropial sun! about us the dense impenetrable bush@ the eternally virgin bush
o& the tropis with its inde&inable mysti?ue! its &antasti seret animal li&e! its dream#shaped! dream#
olored plants! its une4plored treasure o& stone and metal.
But we were not e4plorers! nor were we gold or diamond diggers. We were workers! and set more
store on ertain earnings than on the unertain promise o& the millions that may have been hidden in
the bush around us! waiting to be disovered.
We hiked through the wild unbroken bushland! sweating under a tropial sun! without the &aintest
idea where and when we would loate "r. $hine,s otton plantation. )t might be &i&ty miles away!
perhaps si4ty. What i& it were eighty or a hundred miles+ We simply had to &ind work.
We disovered a narrow path and marhed &orward in single &ile. *ntonio! the "esti3o! went in
&ront. Then ame %on3alo! the other "e4ian. *&ter him ame the Chinaman! $am Woe by name!
who was the most elegant o& our group! the only one with a whole shirt. He wore linen trousers!
ankle#high heavy boots! dark otton soks! and a &ashionable straw hat. $am arried two bundles!
bulging and obviously heavy. He smiled onstantly! was always in a good humor! and as we went
on it beame our most bitter grievane that no matter what we did or what bad luk we met with!
nothing provoked him to anger. He told us that he had worked as a ook in an oil &ield but! so that
we wouldn,t get the idea he was arrying money on him! he lost no time in in&orming us that his
earnings were deposited in a Chinese bank in $an (uis <otosi.
Cotton#piking was not $am,s great passion 8or mine9! but it was a summer /ob and he thought he
might as well add a &ew pesos to his apital! with whih he hoped to open a small restaurant '
Comida Corrida! BC Centavos ' in Tampio or thereabouts! in the autumn. He was pratial. When
we,d got well into the dense bush he ut himsel& a stik! hung one bundle over eah end! balaned
the stik aross his shoulders! and trotted along in short rapid steps. He made the whole marh in
this maddening way! with no sign o& &atigue and no variation in tempo! and e4pressed his
astonishment that we stopped now and then &or a short rest. We let &ly at him! telling him that we
were deent Christians while he was a low Chink hathed by a monstrous yellow dragon.
5e4t in line was the giganti 5egro! Charley! and he suited our ompany muh better than the smart
Chink! &or Charley wore rags and had his bundle done up in old brown paper that! like ours! broke
open on the marh. Charley laimed to have ome &rom Florida! but he ouldn,t onvine me o& it
beause he ouldn,t speak 2nglish &luently. His $panish was also very limited! so ) imagine that he
either ame &rom Bra3il or had smuggled himsel& over &rom *&ria. He obviously wanted to get to
the $tates! and it would be easier &or him as a 5egro to get over the border! even i& his 2nglish was
not very good! than &or a white man who spoke the language well. He was the only one who
regarded otton#piking as a welome and pro&itable oupation.
Then there was *braham! the little 5egro &rom 5ew -rleans! who wore a shirt as blak as his skin!
so that it wasn,t easy to distinguish between the shreds o& his shirt and the skin it tried to over.
*braham was the only one who wore a ap! oddly enough a blue#striped ap o& the kind worn by
railroad stokers and engineers. He had no bundle! but he arried a o&&ee pot and a &rying pan! and
some &ood in a small anvas bag. *braham was wily! unning! heeky! and ever in good spirits. He
had a mouth organ on whih he played that silly tune 7;es! we have no bananas7 so o&ten that on
the seond day we let loose on him with our &ists.
%on3alo said that *braham stole like a row! and *ntonio said that he lied like a Aominian &riar.
-n the third evening out! we aught *braham stealing a slie o& *ntonio,s dried bee&! but we
relieved him o& it be&ore he got it into his &rying pan and solemnly e4plained to him that i& we
aught him stealing again we would deal with him aording to the law o& the bushland. We would
try him! duly sentene him! then take a ord &rom one o& our bundles and hang him on the nearest
ebony tree! leaving a note pinned on his body to e4plain why he had been hanged. Whereupon
*braham told us that we would not dare to lay a &inger on him! &or he was an *merian iti3en!
7native#born!7 and would report us to the government in Washington i& we so muh as touhed him.
They would then ome with a gunboat &lying the stars and stripes and work vengeane on us. He
was a &ree iti3en 7o& the 0nited $tates!7 ould prove it with erti&iates! and so had the right to be
tried be&ore a proper ourt. When we told him that no gunboat &lying the stars and stripes ould sail
into the bush! he said! 7Well! %entlemen! $irs! /ust touh me with the tip o& one &inger and see what
happens.7
What happened was that we aught him a &ew days later stealing a an o& ondensed milk &rom the
Chink. He bra3enly laimed he,d bought the milk at a store in Tampio! but we gave him suh a
beating that he ouldn,t have held a pen to write to Washington. 8(ater! when he pil&ered &rom
others! that was! o& ourse! none o& our business.9
Then last in line there was %erard %ales ' that,s my name. There,s not muh to say about me. )n
dress ) was indistinguishable &rom the others! and ) was going otton#piking ' laborious!
underpaid work ' beause there was no other work to be had and ) badly needed a shirt! a pair o&
shoes! and some trousers. 2ven so! they would have to ome &rom a seond#hand shop. Ten weeks,
work at otton#piking would never earn enough to buy them new.
The sun was already low when we began to look around &or a plae to pith amp.
Be&ore long we &ound a spot where high grass e4tended into the bush@ we pulled out as muh o& it as
was neessary to lear a amping ground and set &ire to the surrounding grass! thereby gaining some
&reedom &rom insets and reeping vermin &or the night. * &reshly#burned grass area is supposed to
be the best protetion you an have i& you are obliged to /ourney in these parts without the
e?uipment o& the tropial traveler.
We had a amp&ire! but no water to ook with. *t this point the Chink produed a bottle o& old
o&&ee. We had had no idea that he was arrying suh preious stu&& with him. He heated the o&&ee
and obligingly o&&ered us all a drink. But what was a bottle o& o&&ee among si4 men who had been
plodding along in the tropial sun &or hal& a day without a drop o& water+ Furthermore! it was
probable that we,d &ind as little water during the ne4t day as we had &ound on this &irst a&ternoon.
The bush is green! yes! the whole year through! but water is to be &ound only during the rainy
season and then only in those spots where ponds and basins &orm.
$o! no one who has not himsel& wandered the tropial bush an possibly reali3e the e4tent o& the
Chink,s sari&ie. But none o& us said 75o! thank you.7 2veryone seemed to take it ?uite &or granted
that the o&&ee should be shared. *nd we,d have taken it e?ually &or granted had the Chink drunk all
his o&&ee himsel&. Hal& a day,s marh in waterless ountry isn,t enough to make you turn robber &or
the sake o& a up o& o&&ee! but three days in the bush may &ind you thinking seriously o& murder &or
the sake o& even a small rusty an o& stinking &luid alled water only beause it is wet.
*ntonio and ) had some dry bread to munh. %on3alo had some tortillas and &our mangos. Charley
had a &ew bananas. *braham ate something &urtively@ ) ouldn,t see what it was.
We made ready to sleep. The Chink put a piee o& anvas on his sleeping plae and then wrapped
himsel&! head and all! in a large towel@ %on3alo rolled himsel& into his sarape@ and ) wrapped my
head in a tattered rag as a protetion against mos?uitoes and promptly &ell asleep. The others were
talking and smoking around the &ire and ),ve no idea when they turned in.
Be&ore dawn! we were on our way. The trail through the bush was overgrown &or long strethes.
$aplings reahed more than shoulder#high and the ground was so dense with atus shrubs that they
o&ten overed the path. "y bare alves were soon so srathed up that all sorts o& insets were
attrated to the blood.
Toward noon we arrived at a plae where a barbed#wire &ene ran along the right side o& the trail
and knew that we were near a &arm. We kept the &ene on our right! and a&ter an hour or more
arrived at a wide! open learing overgrown with high grass. We searhed the plae and &ound a
istern ' empty. * &ew rotten beams! some old ans! rusty orrugated iron sheets! and similar /unk
indiated an abandoned &arm.
This was a disappointment! but we were not disheartened by it. )n this part o& the world &arms are
arved out o& the bush! worked &or ten or even twenty years! and then suddenly &or one reason or
another are abandoned. Within &ive years! o&ten sooner! the bush has obliterated all signs o& the men
who one lived and worked there. The tropial bush devours more ?uikly than men an build. The
bush has no memory@ it knows only the living! growing present.
By &our o,lok we got to another &arm@ an *merian &amily was living on it. ) was well reeived!
was given a good meal with the &armer! and was o&&ered a plae to sleep in the house. The others
were &ed on the patio and were allowed to sleep in a shed.
The &armer knew "r. $hine! and told me that we had about another thirty miles to go. He said there
was no water along the route and that the road was barely reogni3able in some plaes! as it hadn,t
been used sine that time three years ago. "r. $hine now took his otton to the <o3os station! on the
other side o& )4tli.... 7That plae isn,t ?uite so &ar &rom $hine,s as the one you &ellows are hiking
&rom!7 he said. 7The road,s good too. *t &irst there was no road to <o3os either! but sine the oil
men ame they,ve made one. 5ow all the &armers around there use that station! and ),d advise you to
take that road when you go bak. By the way!7 he added! 7) wonder why no! one told you to go to
<o3os in the &irst plae+7
Why+ Beause to the men out reruiting pikers &or the otton &armers! what did it matter how we
got to the /ob+ 7)4tli4ohiuauhtepe7 they wrote out! and that ended their part in the matter. What
onern was it o& theirs to hek out the route+
Beause to the stationmaster it hadn,t ourred that it might make a di&&erene whih station he
made out the tiket &or! or maybe he hadn,t even known there was a hoie! or! i& he had! that the
hoie was between a three#day walk beating a path under a burning sun and a real road where we
might even have been able to pik up a ride.
The ne4t morning we were all given a generous break&ast! ) one more eating at the &amily table.
When we were getting ready to leave! the &armer rounded up enough bottles so that eah o& us ould
have a bottle o& old tea to take along! and we started out on those last thirty or so miles.
3
-n the &ollowing day! about noon! we arrived at "r. $hine,s. He reeived us with real satis&ation!
&or he was short o& hands.
Calling me into the house! he ross#e4amined me. 7What+7 he asked. 7;ou want to pik otton!
too+7
7;es! ) must. ),m &lat broke! ;ou an see that! by my rags. *nd there,s no work to be &ound in the
towns. 2very plae is &looded with /ob#hunters &rom the $tates! where they,re having their postwar
slump. But when workers are needed here! they pre&er to take on natives! beause they pay them
wages they,d never dare o&&er a white man! even i& this Devolution is supposed to hange all that.7
7Have you piked be&ore+7 he interrupted me.
7;es!7 ) answered! 7in the $tates.7
7Ha! ha17 he laughed. 7That,s a di&&erent proposition. There! you an make a good thing o& it.7
7) did good enough.7
7) believe it. They pay muh better! and they an a&&ord to pay! &or they get better pries than we do.
)& we ould sell our otton to the $tates we ould pay better wages! too. But the $tates won,t let our
otton in@ they want to keep the prie up.
We have to depend on our home market! and that soon reahes the saturation point. $ometimes!
when the $tates don,t inter&ere! we an sell to 2urope! but that,s rare beause they onsider 2urope
their market.
7But now ' what about you+ ) an,t &eed you or put you up in my house. But ) need every hand
that omes along! so ),ll tell you what. ) pay si4 entavos the kilo@ suppose ) pay you /ust two ents
more than the others ' otherwise you won,t make as muh as the niggers. -nly don,t tell this to the
others! ,ause i& they &ind out they,ll give me lots o& trouble. $o that,s how matters stand. ),m sorry.7
75o reason &or you to &eel sorry!7 ) said. 7;ou pay me the same as the others. Aon,t let my white
skin and blue eyes bother you. ) understand how you &eel. By all means! thank you.7
7;ou and your &riends an sleep over there in the old house. ) built it and lived in it with my &amily
until ) ould a&&ord this new one here. *greed+ )t,s settled then.7
The house to whih the &armer re&erred was about &ive minutes, walk &rom his new plae. )t was the
usual &armhouse o& the region ' poles and boards ' and was built on piles so that the air moving
under the &loor kept the interior ool. )t had only one room! and eah wall had a door that also
served as a window.
We entered the house by limbing the &ew rungs o& a rude ladder set up against one o& the doors.
The room was ompletely empty. We &ound &our old bo4es lying about in the yard and brought
them in to use as hairs. We would sleep on the bare &loor.
Close to the house was a dried#up water hole. There was also a tank &ull o& rain water that was
several months old and teeming with tadpoles. ) alulated there were about twenty#&ive gallons o&
water in the tank and we si4 men would have to make do with this &or si4 or eight weeks. With three
o& us using the same water! we might be able to wash one a week.
"r. $hine had already told us that we ould e4pet no water &rom him@ he was short o& water! and
had to provide &or si4 horses and &our mules. But! as he said! at this time o& year it might possibly
rain &or two or even &our hours every two weeks! and i& we repaired the rain troughs we ould
ollet ?uite a bit o& water. Furthermore! there was a reek about three hours, walk away! where! i&
we hose! we ould go to bathe.
-n the slim hane that it might rain within the ne4t two weeks! we all took a wash in an old
gasoline an. We hadn,t washed &or three days.
) shaved. However down and out ) may be! ) always arry a ra3or! omb! and toothbrush. The Chink
also shaved. Then *ntonio ame and asked i& he ould borrow my ra3or. He hadn,t shaved &or about
two weeks! and looked like a pirate.
75o! my dear *ntonio!7 ) said! 7shaving kit! omb! and toothbrush ) lend to no one.7
The Chink! enouraged by my re&usal! said! smiling! that his poor ra3or would be blunted by suh a
strong beard! and there was no possibility o& getting the ra3or sharpened here. He himsel& had only a
&u33y stubble. *ntonio aepted these re&usals without protest.
We got a amp&ire going in &ront o& the house@ the nearby bush supplied us with plenty o& &uel. Then
we sat around and ooked our. suppers. ) had rie and hili@ a ouple o& the men &i4ed blak beans
and hili@ someone else had beans and dried meat@ while another &ried some potatoes with a little
baon.
*s we had to be ready &or work at &our o,lok the &ollowing morning! we prepared our orn bread
&or the ne4t day. Then we tied up our miserable supplies and hung them &rom a rossbeam in the
house! so that the ants and mie wouldn,t relieve us o& everything during the night.
* little a&ter si4! the sun went down. Within hal& an hour the night was pith blak. %lowworms!
with lights the si3e o& ha3elnuts! &lew about us. We rept into our house to sleep.
The Chink was the only one who had a mos?uito net. We others had to endure the most &right&ul
torment &rom hordes o& insets! and we ursed and raged as i& that ould have made any di&&erene.
) deided that ),d have to stand this agony &or one night but that ),d take steps the ne4t morning to do
something about it.
Be&ore sunrise we were up and about. 2ah o& us swallowed what &ood we had at hand! and made
o&& &or the otton &ield ' an hour,s walk. The &armer and his two sons were already there. They
handed us an old sak apiee! whih we slung &rom our neks. Tightening our belts around our
ragged lothes! we started piking otton! eah to his own row.
<iking otton is hard work! espeially under a tropial sun. $weat streamed &rom us! tiny &lies rept
into our ears! and mos?uitoes stung us &rom every angle. )t was an agony! and yet we kept on
pulling otton bolls &rom the plants! stu&&ing them into our saks! while trying to breathe in the ha3e
o& otton dust and &u33 that hung over eah o& our stooping bodies. 5o matter how hard we worked!
we would earn little more than enough to buy &ood to keep alive. *nd that was what we wanted! /ust
to keep alive@ so we worked on.
)& the otton is well ripe and you,ve got the piker,s knak! you an pik eah bloom at one grasp.
However! i& the pods are not e?ually ripe it,s neessary with more than hal& o& them to give two or
three good tugs to get the bloom o&& the plant and into the sak. With well#ripened otton! and when
the plants are well spaed! it,s possible a&ter some pratie to pik with both hands@ but with a
middling rop and badly spaed plants! you may have to use both hands to pik one bloom. *nd
another thing! you have to keep stooping all the time! &or not all the blooms are at a onvenient
height@ and at times! the otton is lose to the ground! where a heavy rain&all has &lattened it! and it
has to be pulled up.
Cotton is e4pensive stu&&. *nyone who goes to buy a suit! a shirt! a towel! a pair o& soks! or /ust a
handkerhie& soon disovers this. But the otton#piker who does the toughest part o& the work gets
the smallest share o& the ost o& the &inished produt. For piking a kilo 8about two pounds9 o&
otton we got si4 entavos. * kilo o& otton is a little mountain@ to pik this muh you,ve got to
pluk out hundreds o& pods.
We did this on a diet that ould well be regarded as the very lowest on whih man an remain alive.
-ne day it was blak beans and hot peppers! the ne4t day rie 8with tomatoes! i& we were luky9! the
&ollowing day! beans again! and then rie again. With it there was the bread we made that was either
soggy or burned to a inder@ our months#old stinking rain water@ and o&&ee made &rom beans that
we roasted in &rying pans! ground on a metate stone! and sweetened with the rude brown pilonillo
sugar. The salt we used was sea salt! whih we ourselves had to lean. * pound o& onions a week
we onsidered a positive deliay@ a strip o& dried meat now and then was a sin&ul lu4ury that ut
deep into our earnings. For we were determined to save our pennies in order to have rail &are to the
ne4t big town! where when the otton#piking was over we hoped to &ind a new /ob.
Toward eleven o,lok! a&ter nearly seven hours o& ontinuous work! we were at the end o& our
strength. We rested in the shade o& a &ew trees that were more than a ten#minute walk away and ate
our dry pan#baked bread! whih ' mine anyway ' was burned. Then we lay down to sleep &or a
ouple o& hours.
We woke with a ghastly thirst! and ) went over to the &armer to ask &or some water.
7),m sorry! ) haven,t got any. ) told you yesterday! didn,t )! that ) was short o& water+ -h well! ),ll let
you have some today! but &rom tomorrow on bring your own water with you.7
He sent one o& his sons bak to the house on a horse! and the young man soon ame bak with a an
o& rain water.
*t &our in the a&ternoon we stopped work so that we ould get 7home7 to ook our &ood while there
was still daylight. That was when ) moved out.
) had disovered a sort o& shelter about two hundred yards away &rom the house. What purpose it
served or might have served ) had no idea. )t had a palm#thathed roo& but no walls. Beause o& this
lak o& walls the night bree3e 8when there was one9 ould &reely irulate! keeping the plae ool. )n
the enter was a table! whih ) would use as my bed. The shelter lay higher than the house! had no
shrubs lose to it! and was a good distane away &rom the water tank and the dried#up water hole! so
that ) would be removed &rom the mos?uito menae.
The giant 5egro! Charley! wanted to share the shelter with me. He ame over! looked around! and
liked it. But suddenly he yelled out! 7* snake1 * snake17
7Where+7
7There! right at your &eet.7
$ure enough! there was a snake twisting along the &loor! a &iery red one! two &eet or so long.
7)t doesn,t matter!7 ) said. 7That snake won,t swallow me. The mos?uitoes in the house up there are
worse.7
Charley disappeared.
*&ter a while %on3alo ame over. The snake had gone in the meantime. %on3alo liked the look o&
my new ?uarters and asked i& ),d have any ob/etion to his sleeping there also.
) said! 7;ou may bunk here i& you like. )t,s all the same to me.7
He was staring at the &loor. ) looked too. )t was a snake again! this time a beauti&ul green one.
7-n seond thought!7 he said! looking at the lively snake! 7),d better return to the house and sleep
there. )t,s less noisy there! you see.7
$nakes don,t bother me. *nd in any ase they,d hardly want to get up onto the table. *nd even i&
they did! it wasn,t sure they,d bite me. *nd even i& they did bite! they might not be poisonous. )& all
snakes were poisonous and all o& them bit a sleeping man who had done them no harm! ) would
have been a goner long ago.
The &ollowing day twelve natives arrived to work with us. They ame &rom a village in the bush!
riding on mules! some without saddles or stirrups. -thers had wooden saddles but no reins@ instead
o& reins! the beasts had ropes looped around nose and /aw! &or a kind o& halter.
These men! o& ourse! were more used to &ield labor in the tropis than we were beause! with the
e4eption o& %on3alo and Charley! all o& us were towns&olk. But they piked otton slower than we
did! and on top o& that they took a muh longer siesta at noon. This! however! had nothing to do
with us! and we hardly gave it a seond thought.
$aturday was pay day! but we drew only enough to buy &ood &or the oming week@ to avoid arrying
the germs o& temptation in our pokets! we le&t the balane with "r. $hine. -n $unday we knoked
o&& at three so as to take our weekly bath! pull our sweaty lothes through the water! and send two o&
our gang to the nearest store &or supplies ' a &our#hour trip. $unday,s work earned us about a kilo
o& baon or &ive kilos o& potatoes.
This time the Chink and *ntonio had gone to buy the supplies. We had written down our various
needs on orn husks. The hieroglyphis insribed on these orn husks ould be deiphered by the
shoppers only beause we,d verbally e4plained eah &antasti symbol. )t was dark when the Chink
and *ntonio returned &rom the store.
7What a miserable hike!7 grumbled *ntonio.
7-h! it wasn,t so bad17 $am tried to soothe it over.
7$hut up! you yellow son o& a heathen!7 shouted *ntonio. 7How an you with your oolie past
understand how ) &eel about paking goods like a burro+7 He sank down onto a bo4 whih ollapsed
under his weight! and this &urther inreased his rage.
7(isten! *ntonio! why didn,t you ask "r. $hine &or a mule or a burro+7 ) asked.
7But ) did. He re&used. He said to me and $am6 EHow an ) lend you a mule or a burro+ ) know
nothing about you! you,ve got no papers to identi&y you! and even i& you did they would probably be
&ake. Besides! the papers wouldn,t help me to buy a new burro i& you ran o&& with it.7
7Well! he,s ?uite right! &rom his point o& view!7 ) said. 7From our point o& view! it,s downright
mean. But what an we do about it+7
Fust as we were getting under way on the &avored topi o& workers the world over! e4pounding with
more lo?uaity than wisdom the un/ust onditions that divide men into e4ploiters and e4ploited!
drones and disinherited! *braham appeared with hal& a do3en hens and a rooster suspended on a
ord! their &eet tied up! their heads dangling. He dropped the birds be&ore us! where they struggled
to get on their &eet and &lap &ree o& the ord that tied them.
7There you are! &ellers! now you an get eggs o&& me.7 He grinned. 7),ll let you have ,em heap
,ause you,re my workmates. 5ine entavos eah. Cost you ten and even twelve in town.7
We stared &irst at the bundle o& hens and then at the grinning *braham. 5ot one o& us had thought
o& going into the egg business like this! and yet it was so obvious! so simple! and re?uired no speial
intelligene! so that any o& us ould have done the same. $am the Chink showed no envy or
/ealousy! but only admiration &or the enterprising *braham! and perhaps some shame at having
allowed himsel& to be beaten in setting up a sideline.
Thus in the ourse o& one a&ternoon the disinherited and e4ploited worker *braham beame an
owner! a apitalist. He had a?uired produtive hens while we had bought only &ood to be
onsumed. We had wondered why he had ordered no &ood &rom the store and had been prepared to
deal with the pil&ering o& our supplies! whih we had e4peted o& him. )nstead he was o&&ering us
&uture supplies o& eggs in e4hange &or rie and beans or money. He was in business. *t the worst!
in ase the hens went on strike! he ould eat them! and the rooster too.
-n the &ollowing day *braham had &our eggs &or sale.
4
We regarded eggs as a greater lu4ury than meat.
*nd now that they were so temptingly lose at hand and ould be prepared more easily than any
other &ood! so that we ould get something better into us &or break&ast than the usual thin o&&ee and
piee o& dry bread! we &elt we would not and ould not do without eggs. )t suddenly seemed to us
that without eggs we would &old up &rom undernourishment be&ore the end o& the harvest! or i& we
survived the harvest we,d be too &eeble to go on to other work.
The slaves! said *braham! who had it &rom his granddad! were generally kept in good ondition!
like horses. But no one worried about the ondition o& the 7&ree7 worker. )& he got ill through
malnutrition due to substandard living onditions beause o& low wages! he got saked.
-pportunisti arguments o& this kind were advaned by *braham so as to ensure a ready and
regular market &or eggs. $uh observations on man,s ondition were all the more aeptable to us
sine! generously enough! he supplied us with eggs on redit until the ne4t pay day. *braham did
this purely out o& the kindness o& his heart beause! as he e4plained it! he did not want to see us! his
dear &ellow workers! &ail &rom malnutrition in later li&e! that is! a&ter the harvest.
Within three days we ouldn,t imagine how we had ever e4isted without eggs. We had eggs &or
break&ast! we took eggs along to the &ield &or lunh! and o& ourse we had eggs &or supper. We were
even baking eggs into our bread.
There was no doubt about it! *braham understood hiken &arming. -&ten he le&t the &ield as early
as three to look a&ter his hens. He gave them plenty o& orn. 2very other evening /ust at twilight he
went o&& ' he never said where ' with a sak. He always returned with his sak &ull o& orn long
a&ter we had turned in.
Those si4 hens and the rooster! apparently aware o& our need! did their best to protet us &rom
malnutrition! laying a generous supply o& eggs in honest return &or the abundant grain they reeived.
Well! the hens laid &our eggs on the &irst day@ on the seond day! seven. -n the third morning! lest
we doubt his word! *braham took us to the three old baskets he,d hung up &or the laying hens and
let us ount. the eggs &or ourselves. There they were! seventeen eggs now. Having ounted these
eggs at sunrise! we doubted *braham,s word no more! not even when with beaming &ae one
morning! as i& he,d won in the national lottery! he in&ormed us that the hens had laid twenty#eight
eggs in one day1 )t was no onern o& ours what *braham did to his hens to get suh results. The
Chink said that the Chinese per&ormed mirales in s?uee3ing nutriment &rom a partile o& earth or
the last egg &rom a hen! but that *braham outdid even them.
*braham ut him short6 7;ou,re all a lot o& &ools. ;ou know as little about sienti&i hiken
&arming as the &armers around here! who are the biggest &ools o& all. )n (ouisiana we know how to
handle hens. ) learned it &rom my grandmother! who gave me some good louts be&ore ) got the
hang o& it! but now even the smartest &armer wouldn,t stand a hane against me i& ) ran a hiken
&arm here. ),d show him how to make hens pay.7
We /ust went on eating eggs. But the eggs took their revenge6 they devoured us. They devoured our
wages to the e4tent that none o& us would reah his set target! whether it was &or a new shirt! new
trousers! or simply a railroad tiket to a plae with better prospets. 2ven $am! whose ountrymen
are o&ten un/ustly harged with pre&erring to run around naked rather than spend a penny on a
neessity! owed *braham a neat sum &or eggs.
Compared to our &irst week we were living like prines now! thanks to the eggs! and also to a night
rainstorm that provided us with enough rain water to wallow in baths.
;et the rain lost us hal& a day,s pay! turning the otton &ield into a muddy swamp &rom whih we
ould hardly li&t our &eet.
By the third pay day it was plain that we ouldn,t get along on the miserable wages paid us. *t the
end o& the harvest we,d have barely two weeks, wages in hand! and all o& that would be spent be&ore
we ould marh out o& the bush and on to the ne4t /ob! wherever it might be.
7)t,s those damned eggs 1 7 said *ntonio! as we sat around the &ire talking things over. 7Those eggs
are enslaving us miserably.7
7But we didn,t have to buy them!7 ) put in. 7*braham didn,t &ore them onto us. He ould have
saved them up and sold them to the store.7
7That,d be more work &or him!7 said %on3alo.
*t this moment *braham ame bak with his evening,s orn and! overhearing us! threw his sak
down. 7$o you,re talking about eggs1 Haven,t ) done right by you all+ 2very egg &reshly laid1 ),m
entitled to my money! ain,t )! &ellers+7
75obody talked about not paying. )& you don,t know what we,re talking about! better keep ?uiet!7 )
told him. 7(isten!7 broke in *ntonio! 7we were saying that unless we give up the needless lu4ury o&
eggs we,ll have worked all these weeks &or nothing.7
75eedless lu4,ry! you all it+7 *braham yelled. 7;ou want to walk aroun, like skel,tons when the
otton#pikin,s over+ 5ow ),m olletin, my money1 *ntonio! you owe ... 7
) didn,t are who owed &or how many eggs. ) paid my own bill and le&t &or the shelter to turn in. -n
the way ) ould hear s?uabbling over the aounts! although it must be admitted that *braham
seemed absolutely honest in his business relations with us. But as ) was do3ing o&& that night )
resolved to do without eggs the ne4t week.
*t dawn on "onday! as ) was making my way to the &ire! ) heard *ntonio shouting6 7Where are the
eggs this morning! you blak#as#oal ;ank+ ) want &ive eggs17
*braham was ounting the eggs in his baskets and ontinued as i& he hadn,t heard *ntonio.
7Hey there! didn,t you hear me+ ) want &ive eggs. -r shall ) lay them mysel&+7
7What,s this+7 asked *braham! all innoene. 7) don,t want to &ore my eggs on you and rob you o&
your hard#earned wages. ;ou,d better save the money. ;ou an get along without eggs! like you did
the &irst &ew days here.7
We rose up like one man against *braham,s new tune! against his inter&erene with our established
way o& li&e.
7Who do you think you are! you blak nobody! telling me what ) should and should not eat!7
himed in %on3alo. 7%ive me si4 eggs at one or ),ll smash your woolly skull in.7
7*ll right!7 *braham agreed! 7i& that,s the way you want it ),ll supply you with eggs! as be&ore.7
7Well! how else+7 asked $am Woe ?uietly. 7Filst you tempt us into eating eggs! and when we get
used to them you tly to withhold. %ive me thlee eggs17
The Chink was right. Fust when we,d got used to the eggs! their high &ood value! easy availability!
and simple ooking! were we suddenly to be denied them beause o& *braham,s whim+ Why should
) deny my poor sel&! and torture my poor body with the sight o& beauti&ul! &resh eggs si33ling
merrily in the others, &rying pans+ 7%ive me si417 ) ordered. *nd one ) had eaten three &ried eggs
and boiled the others to take &or lunh! my spirit was subdued and penitent.
$o we kept on eating eggs.
-ne a&ternoon a &ew days later "r. $hine stopped me on my way bak &rom the &ield and talked
about his &arm! how he had started with si4ty dollars o& hard#earned money! how he had haked the
bush out with his own hands! and how he had widened a narrow! overgrown twelve#mile mule trak
into a road &it &or his truk.
7)t took me twenty years o& hard! very hard work to build up this plae. *nd yet we gringos! who
helped make this part o& the ountry what it is today! &eel that we must be ready to get out on short
notie and leave everything behind. These people ' with some reason! ) admit ' hate us like
poison beause they &ear &or their politial and eonomi &reedom and independene! whih means
everything to them.7
"r. $hine wasn,t the &irst 5orth#*merian &armer to tell me this.
7$ome years are very good. ),ve had as many as &our rops o& orn in the same year! something ),d
never get bak in the $tates. *nd ) must say the otton,s very good this year! &irst#lass &iber! i& only
) an get a deent o&&er &or it. The trik is in knowing /ust how long to wait! /ust when to sell. But )
an,t understand what,s happened to my hens. We,ve never had so &ew eggs as in these last weeks.
"y neighbors are also omplaining about their hens! and they,re wondering what,s going on in their
orn bins that they &ill up in the evening and &ind a little lower in the morning. $ame happens to me.
"ust be rats! ),d say.7
That evening ) told the gang what "r. $hine had said about his hens.
7There you are! &ellers! there,s the true *merian &armer &or you17 said *braham. 7They,d eat their
own &ingernails! they,re so mean! and they begrudge the po,r hens a hand&ul o& grain ' then
omplain that they,re not layin,. How kin they i& they,re not rightly &ed+ (ook at my hens1 ) don,t
spare the orn! so ) get what ) want &rom them. They only have to be well &ed and properly treated!
and then they do their duty. "y good grandmother $usanne taught me that! and she was a lever
woman! you an take it &rom me! &ellers. *nd that,s a &at1 *nother thing!7 he went on! 7it,s not the
rats that get into the bins o& those greedy &armers! it is the po,r starvin, hens whih at night instead o&
sleeping prowl around to pik up a &ew kernels o& orn lest they starve to death! po,r little animals.7
*nd we listened to him. *&ter all! *braham had the proo& o& his hiken knowledge in eggs.
5
That same evening we ame unanimously to the onlusion that we had to eat properly to keep up
our work power! but that at the same time we had to see to it that a ertain sum was le&t over at the
end o& the harvest so that we shouldn,t have worked &or nothing! like slaves /ust &or our keep ' that
there&ore! in a nutshell! we weren,t being paid enough. )& we got eight instead o& si4 entavos a kilo!
we ould /ust about srape through.
With this thought in our minds we went to sleep.
The ne4t morning as soon as the other workers arrived in the &ield! *ntonio and %on3alo went up to
them and e4plained that we intended to ask &or eight entavos a kilo &rom now on! plus two
entavos a kilo retroatively. These people! natives and more independent than we were! espeially
sine they all had their own parels o& land! readily agreed.
Then *ntonio and %on3alo and two o& the other men went up to the sales and told "r. $hine how
matters stood.
75o!7 answered "r. $hine! 7),m not going to pay that! and that,s that1 ),m not ra3y1 ),ve never paid
that muh. ) don,t make that muh on the otton.7
7*ll right!7 said *ntonio! 7then we,re paking up. We,ll be o&& today.7
-ne o& the loal men intervened6 7(isten! se=or! we,ll wait another two hours. Think it over. )& you
say no! we,ll saddle our mules. *nd we,ll take good are that you don,t get any more men.7
With that the on&erene ame to an end. The &our returned to the &ield and reported $hine,s answer.
The men le&t the rows they were piking! went over to the trees! and lay down to sleep. While ) was
also making my way toward the trees! "r. $hine alled! 7Hey! %ales1 Come over here a moment17
75ow!7 ) said while approahing him! 7i& you think ),m going to at as a go#between you,re ?uite
mistaken! "r. $hine. )& ) were a &armer ),d be on your side and ),d go with you through thik and
thin. But ),m not a &armer. ),m a &arm hand! and ) stik with my &ellow workers. ;ou understand!
don,t you+7
7;es! o& ourse! %ales. )n any ase ),m not trying to win you over to my side. ;ou ouldn,t get the
otton in alone. But let,s have a ?uiet talk about it.7
"r. $hine lit a pipe. His elder son! who was about twenty#si4! lit a igar! and the other son! a &ellow
o& twenty#two or so! peeled some &ilthy#looking paper &rom a piee o& hewing gum and popped the
gum into his mouth.
7;ou,re the only white man among the pikers here! and as ),m already paying you eight you are
really neutral and an talk with us. ) take it you haven,t told the other &ellows that you,re getting
eight+7 asked "r. $hine! taking his pipe &rom his mouth.
75o!7 ) said! 7) haven,t had the slightest reason &or doing so.7
The &at is ) hadn,t. But ) knew that had the sub/et ome up! not one o& the men would have &elt
wronged at my taking that e4tra two entavos. )t wasn,t any skin o&& their baks. *nd not one even
now would ause me o& not having brought the sub/et up. What good would it have done them to
know+ $ome things we didn,t &ind it neessary to talk about. -ur ommon lot was something else
again.
Aik! the older boy! limbed into the bak o& the truk! propped himsel& against a bale o& otton!
and dangled his legs over the side. <ete! the younger one! seated himsel& at the steering wheel and
do3ed o&&! still hewing his gum.
The old man leaned against the truk and! swearing the while! &iddled with his pipe that now went
out! now got hoked! now needed re&illing although the tobao in it hadn,t yet burned through.
-nly by the way he was handling his pipe did the &armer give any outward indiation o& the
e4itement that was &uming within him.
When about &ive minutes had passed without a word being spoken! <ete sat up and suddenly burst
out6 7;ou know what ),d do i& ) were in your shoes! Aad+ ),d pay up and say no more about it.7
7;ou,d pay up! would you+7 "r. $hine was &urious. 7The money doesn,t ome out o& your poket.
That makes E),d pay up, very easy. *ll right then! ),ll take it out o& your money.7
7;ou won,t do any suh thing! Aad1 -r! i& you do! you,ll have to give me the money &or the otton
sold. -therwise it wouldn,t be &air.7
7-h! don,t make me laugh1 The money &or the otton sold+ Have ) sold even a dime,s worth yet+ )
tell you! %ales! no one,s o&&ered me a penny yet. *nd what prime otton it is this year1 )t,d put the
whitest snow&lake in all *laska to shame. *nd /ust look here7 ' he tore o&& a pod nearby and
holding it lose to my nose s?uee3ed it between his &ingers ' 7the so&test down is like barbed wire
ompared with this. Well! %ales! say some.. thing1 Aon,t stand there as i& you,d lost your tongue17
7But don,t &orget ),m neutral!7 ) protested.
7*ll right! you,re neutral. But you an still open your mouth.7
*ll he wanted was someone with whom to argue.
Aik settled himsel& more om&ortably in the truk and said slowly and deliberately! drawling out
his words6 7),ll tell you something! Aad '7
7;ou+ ;ou,re the right one to tell me something17
7*ll right then! ) won,t. ),ve got time. )t isn,t my otton! you know! it,s yours.7
Aik withdrew into sulky silene. The old man &lew into a rage. 7Well! damn it all! speak up1 -r
must ) stand here until the otton rots+7
7;ou see! Aad! that,s e4atly what ) mean6 until the otton rots. )& the men leave! we won,t get any
more help &rom around here. *nd i& we reruit men &rom the towns we,ll have to pay more in &ares
than the whole thing,s worth.7
7Well! talk &aster! an,t you+7
7) must think what ),m going to say. (ook here! Aad! it,s rained one already. *nd it looks as i&
we,re going to get a very early rainy season or maybe a whole week o& strip rain. )& we do! it,ll be
good#bye to the otton &or good. )t,ll all be beaten into the mud! and you,ll have to look &or someone
who,ll buy sand! let alone otton. The ?uiker we get the otton ginned and marketed! the better
hane we,ll have on the prie. -ne the market is saturated we,ll be glad i& we get rid o& it at a loss
o& twenty or twenty#&ive entavos the bale@ that is! i& we an sell it at all. $o &ar we,ve made very
good time in piking! and should be among the &irst on the market.7
7Aamn it all! boy! you,re damned well right1 Four years ago ) had to sell at thirty entavos below
the starting prie and stood there like a beggar bumming &or a bit o& bread. But ),m not so mad that
),ll pay eight entavos1 ) used to pay only three! and when the otton stood badly! &our. 5o1 ),d ten
times rather leave it to rot than give in17
$o saying he hit out at a shrub as though he wanted to ra3e the entire &ield with one swat. Then in
his anger! another idea ourred to him.
7)t,s the &oreigners who are to blame &or this. They ome here and inite our people. They an never
get enough to stu&& into their big mouths. -ur people around here aren,t dissatis&ied. ;es! and you
too! %ales! you,re one o& the agitators. ;ou,re one o& those bolshies who want to turn everything
upside down and take our land away &rom us! and even pull our beds out &rom under our baksides.
But you got the wrong man in me. ),ve been in that raket too. ) know my way about and ) know
how it,s done. -nly we didn,t have any )WW or any o& that nonsense.7
7*s &ar as ),m onerned! "r. $hine! you,re ?uite at liberty to speak your mind. But! by the way!
what makes you think ),m a Wobbly+ ) haven,t given you any indiations.7
7) know your kind. ;ou,re trying to bring in your ideas here be&ore this Devolution is over. )t won,t
be long! though! be&ore it,ll have &ailed ompletely. Well! ) didn,t mean you e4atly. But ) won,t pay
eight and that,s that17
75ow listen! Aad7 ' <ete spoke without turning toward his &ather ' 7you,re wrong about the
&oreigners! absolutely wrong. The &our &oreigners are piking more than the natives! The )ndians
only pik a bit beause they see the &oreigners at work! but they don,t are about earning more. )&
they make one peso they,re ?uite ontent. They pre&er to have a &ive#hour siesta ' that,s muh more
important to them. ;ou an bet your boots that without the &oreigners we wouldn,t be able to get the
otton in be&ore Christmas.7
7But ),m not paying! and that,s the end o& it.7
7)n that ase ),ll start the engine and we an drive home!7 Aik said dryly! and slowly ame down
&rom the truk.
The two hours agreed on were &ar &rom over! but the 7loals7 were getting restless. They aught
their mules and
began to saddle them. Fust as some o& them were about to mount! *ntonio and %on3alo /umped up!
threw their wide#brimmed sombreros high into the air! and began to sing the song o& the otton#
pikers! whih ) had taught them during our evenings around the amp&ire.
7Cotton is worn by king and prine!
"illionaire and president!
But the lowly otton#piker
$weats to earn eah bloody ent...7
The men immediately eased handling their animals and stood as still as soldiers under orders. They
had never heard the song be&ore but with the instint o& the burdened they &elt that this was their
song! and that it was as losely allied to their strike! the &irst strike o& their e4periene! as a hymn is
allied to religion. They didn,t know what the )WW was! what a labor organi3ation meant! what lass
distintions were. But the singing they heard went straight to their hearts. The words were as the
breath o& li&e to them! and the song welded them together as into a blok o& steel. * &irst dim
awareness o& the immense power and strength o& the working people united in a ommon purpose
was awakened in them.
By the time the &irst re&rain was repeated! the whole &ield was singing. ) knew what was likely to
happen i& the last re&rain were reahed without the desired answer having been reeived. ) knew it
&rom e4periene.
The song! so simple and monotonous in its melody! but in its resounding rhythm as springy as &ine
steel! in&eted me. ) ouldn,t help it. ) began to hum it too.
7-& ourse! you would17 said "r. $hine! hal& sarastially! hal& matter#o&#&atly. 7) knew it17
*t the seond re&rain the men! who had been standing around near their mules in a loosely &ormed
group! turned toward "r. $hine@ they stood as one man! their song taking on a provoative! diret
signi&iane.
"r. $hine &umbled nervously at his belt to un&asten his revolver holster! only to &asten it again with
a look o& embarrassment! in whih ould be deteted also shame! and even resignation.
7Con&ound it all17 he e4laimed. 7They look as i& they mean business.7
7$o they do!7 <ete said! still hewing. 7*nd one they,ve gone! we,ll have the devil,s own /ob to get
them to ome bak again.7
7Dight!7 said "r. $hine. 7),ll pay eight! but only &rom today. What,s paid is paid and there,s going to
be no bak pay. %ales!7 he turned to me! 7would you be good enough to all the men+7
) ran over and alled them together.
7Well! what about it+7 the men asked "r. $hine as they approahed the sales.
7)t,s all right! it,s settled!7 he said! hal& irate and hal& ondesending. 7) pay eight per kilo! but'7
*ntonio didn,t let him &inish6 7*nd what about the kilos we,ve already piked+7
7),ll pay the di&&erene o& two entavos. But now get to work so we an get the otton in be&ore the
rains ome.7 7Hurrah &o, "ister $hine 1 7 shouted *braham.
7.eep your mouth shut! damn you. 5obody,s asked you to shout17 roared the &armer in a &ury.
7But what am ) going to do with you! %ales+7 he asked! keeping me bak as the men were leaving.
7;ou,re already getting eight.7
7;es!7 ) said! 7so that evens things up.7
75o. -ne man,s pay won,t make muh di&&erene to me. *&ter all! you,re the only white in the gang.
),ll give you ten.7
7With bak pay+7 ) laughed.
7With bak pay. ),m a &air businessman. 5ow! why are you hanging around+ Hurry up! get along
with the work. We,ve wasted! %od knows! pratially an hour talking. *nd any hour the rain might
ome.
Then! turning to his two sons! who were /ust in the at o& hanging up the sales! he said6 7),m going
to make you pay! you two@ take my word &or it17
6
5othing muh happened during the &ollowing three weeks. -ne day was like the ne4t ' piking
otton! ooking! eating! sleeping! piking otton :
Then one a&ternoon! when ) got bak &rom the otton &ield! ) went over to the big house to see i&
"rs. $hine ould sell me some baon! or loan it to me until $unday! as ),d &orgotten to ask the
&ellows to get me some when they went shopping.
7Certainly! %ales! you an have it &or ash or on loan! /ust as you like.7
7*ll right. ),ll buy it. The boss an harge it to me on pay day.7
*s she was weighing the baon! "r. $hine returned &rom town with the mail and a &ew purhases.
7;ou,ve ome /ust at the right moment! %ales!7 he said. 7),ve got some news &or you.7
7For me+ Where &rom+7
7Airet &rom town. While ) was at the store ) met "r. Beales! the rew manager &rom -il Camp 9G!
an a?uaintane o& mine. He was sitting there drinking one bottle o& beer a&ter another! with a grim
&ae. He,s in a &i4. They,ve had some trouble at the derrik. )t seems they were hanging the drills
' eights &or tens ' when one o& the pipes kiked out and in/ured a driller,s right arm. -ne o& the
native laborers had been areless ' nothing new! the same kind o& thing has happened be&ore '
and didn,t seure the pipe in time. The driller,s an e4periened man! a reliable &ellow! and they don,t
want to lose him. $o they,re looking &or a good temporary man to take his plae until he an ome
bak. )t,ll be three or &our weeks be&ore he,s &it &or work again. )t,s a tiklish time &or them /ust now.
They,re drilled to seven hundred &eet and are on lay! so i& they don,t get a good driller they might
get a bend in the bore pipe. ;ou,ve worked in the oil &ields and know what this would mean '
e4pense and a loss o& time. The drillers and tool dressers would have to be laid o&& ' maybe the
whole amp.7
7;ou,re telling me!7 ) replied. 7But it,s the sort o& thing that an happen in the best#managed &ield!
no matter how are&ul the men are.7
7Could be. ) don,t understand anything about drilling!7 "r. $hine said! an4ious to go on. 75ow the
manager,s wondering what to do ne4t. He,s already worked one shi&t himsel&! but he an,t arry on
like that. )& he telegraphs his ompany in the $tates it,ll take another three to &our days be&ore he
gets a new man here! and then it,s not ertain that he,ll get a good relie& man. ;ou know a good man
normally won,t take on a /ob &or three weeks and maybe risk missing out on a good! si4#month /ob.
$o ) said to the manager! ,"r. Beales! ),ve got /ust the man you,re looking &or.,7
7But ) still don,t see where ) ome in!7 ) said. 7Why do you do this &or me+ *re you trying to get rid
o& me+7
75ow! wait a minute! %ales. ),m on the level with you. )n three! or at most &our days we,ll have the
otton piked. What are you going to do then+7
7) don,t know yet. ),ll wait and see. ) may go north or south! or ) may go east or west. *tually ) was
thinking o& tramping down to %uatemala! Costa Dia! and <anama ' maybe to Colombia. ),ve
heard there,s a good deal o& oil being pumped down there.7
7Fine17 said "r. $hine. 7That,s /ust what ) thought. )t,s all the same to you where you go. There,ll be
time enough! later on! to visit %uatemala and all the other beauty spots waiting /ust &or you. $o )
said to the manager6 EWell! ),ve got a &ellow at the &arm! helping me with my rop! ! a white man!
honest all through! a very reliable &ellow! with e4periene in drilling! tool dressing! and all that goes
with it., ) had to lay it on a bit thik! you know! %ales! to get results. EWell! "r. Beales!, ) said! E),m
going to send the man down to you1, 5ow what do you say! old hap! eh+7 "r. $hine asked me!
grinning all over his &ae. 7$o down you go to the store tomorrow morning. The storekeeper knows
the way to the amp@ he,ll diret you. ;ou,ll be at the amp in time to sit right down to a &ull#si3ed
meal.7
The part about the meal was tempting.
7)& you &ind you an,t manage the /ob! you won,t have lost muh. Whatever happens! you,ll get a
day,s pay and on top o& that you,ll have some good eats! &or one day!7 "r. $hine added.
) really didn,t have to waste muh thought on the o&&er. There was only three or &our days, work le&t
here! hard and ill#paid work. *t the oil &ield you also had to work a twelve#hour day as there were
only two shi&ts! but at least you were not working in that blistering sun. "oreover! you got ie water
to drink! and as muh o& it as you wanted. But above all you got! as "r. $hine had rightly said!
deent &ood! with plate! kni&e! &ork! spoon! up! and glass on a table that might have been rudely
knoked together but was a table all the same! and there was a real benh on whih to sit. Blak
beans! hard as pebbles! would ease to be a ma/or part o& every meal. *nd they didn,t sleep without
bedding on the bare &loor! but in lean amp beds with so&t mattresses and well proteted by thin
veils o& mos?uito netting. There would be a toilet. ;ou ould shower every day. ) had ?uite
&orgotten that there were suh things in the world. These workers lived in good houses! and had a
hospital and all onvenienes in their amps.
$o ) thanked "rs. $hine but hanged my mind about the baon. When ) got bak to the amp&ire the
most important thing as &ar as ) was onerned was to settle my egg aount with *braham. )& ),d
remained even ten entavos in his debt he,d have pursued me in my dreams right down to Cape
Horn.
) arrived at the oil amp and reported to the manager. He was an *merian. *ll the managers! high
employees! and even speiali3ed workers in the oil &ields were mostly &oreigners! as pratially all
the ompanies e4ploiting the oil in this ountry were either *merian! 2nglish! or Auth and they
pre&erred to give employment to their own ompatriots. "r. Beales didn,t look a bit surprised to see
his new driller in suh rags and tatters as no man in his own ountry would ever have dared walk
around in. He obviously didn,t are what ) wore@ he needed a reliable driller.
The workers at the amp were glad that Aik! the sik driller! had a substitute and would be oming
bak. He was a likable guy who had worked in the amp ever sine the &irst planks went up. They
&i4ed me up! one man bringing me a shirt! another pants! another soks! another working gloves and
shoes.
When ),d &inished my &irst shi&t! "r. Beales said6 7;ou an stay on until Aik omes bak! at &ull
driller,s pay.7
This ertainly was very good news. But Aik reovered &aster than anybody had e4peted! so at the
end o& a week,s work ) had to be on my way again. When ) le&t! Aik gave me twenty dollars e4tra
out o& his own poket! &or traveling e4penses! and! as he said! to treat mysel& to something good.
When the manager paid me o&& he said! 7(isten! %ales! ouldn,t you hang around in the viinity &or
another week or so+7
7;es!7 ) replied. 72asily. ) ould go to "r. $hine,s and stay there &or a while. Why+7
7There,s a &ellow in one o& the &ields here who wants to take a two#week vaation to go up to the
$tates to see his &olks. ;ou ould &ill in as his substitute ' beginning o& the month.7
7*greed!7 said ). 7;ou an leave a message at the store &or me! are o& "r. $hine! when you need
me.7
7Dight! that,s settled17 said "r. Beales.
$o ) went bak to "r. $hine,s the ne4t day and asked him i& ) ould put up &or a while in the shelter.
7Certainly! %ales!7 he said. 7$tay as long as you like.7
) told him about my oil &ield hane! and then asked about the other pikers! my &ormer
ompanions.
7-h! them. Well! the tall nigger went the day a&ter you ' up to Florida! ) think. The short one! the
one alled *braham! turned out to be a soundrel '7
7How do you mean+7
7Well! he sold me some hens ' good layers! he swore ' that he,d bought &rom some peasants! )
&ound out later! &or one peso apiee. $old them to me &or two and a hal& pesos eah. The hens were
well &ed! heavy! good to look at! so ) paid the prie. But that blak devil! he got me on the part about
layers. They,re not laying one egg among them. -h! well ' ) s,pose they,re worth the prie &or
meat.7
7*nd what about the Chink and the two "e4ians+7
7They walked by here ' early ' on "onday. ) saw them &rom the window. *s &ar as ) know! they
went to the <o3os station. By the way! why do you want to live in that shelter+ ;ou ould stay in
the house.7
) laughed. 75o! "r. $hine! ) had enough o& that house. ) wouldn,t stik the tip o& my boot inside it.
)t,s a real mos?uito hell.7
7Well! suit yoursel&. ) lived in it with my &amily &or ten years and we weren,t troubled by
mos?uitoes. But you may be right. )& a house like that hasn,t been used &or some time! and isn,t
properly aired! all sorts o& vermin gather. 5ow and again ) have the horses and mules driven up that
way beause o& the good grass and the water hole. But ) haven,t been up there &or months and ),ve
no idea what the plae is like now. *nyhow! it doesn,t matter to me where you set up house. ;ou,re
no worry to me.7
$o one again ) rigged mysel& up in my shelter. This time ) made my &ire right in &ront o& it. There
was no point in making it near the little house where we,d had our amp&ire disussions@ no one was
there to talk with now.
7
) lived in wonder&ul solitude! my sole ompanions the li3ards. *&ter ),d been there about three days!
two li3ards got so used to me they &orgot their innate timidity and went a&ter the &lies that hovered
around my &eet in searh o& rumbs.
) spent my days puttering around in the near bush! observing animals and their behavior@ and the
animals o& the bush ame and went through my open shelter! as was their right. ) had brought bak
some old maga3ines &rom the oil amp and now had time &or reading.
) ould wallow in water. There had been several good downpours and the water tank was a third
&ull! &or we,d mended the rain troughs! o& ourse. ) ould wash@ ) ould even a&&ord the lu4ury o&
washing twie a day.
5ow ) was able to buy what ) wanted in the store@ ) had plenty o& money and ) treated mysel& well. )
was neither thirsty nor hungry. ) hadn,t a are in the world. ) was a &ree man in the &ree bush! taking
my nap when ) pleased! roaming about when and where and as long as ) liked. )t was a good li&e
and ) en/oyed it to the &ull.
) drew the water ) needed &rom the tank that lay by the old house. )t had been lively there while my
ompanions lived in the house@ there were arguments around the amp&ire! words over a pinh o&
salt that one had taken without asking the owner! endless wrangles about whose turn it was to bring
&irewood! and the like. *s ) thought bak on those vivid senes! the house seemed eerily lonely and
still. 2very time ) went over there to get water ) had the urge to look inside to see i& anyone had le&t
anything behind. But then again! ) liked the spooky silene that brooded over the plae! and )
hesitated to disturb it. )t &itted in with the solitariness o& the surrounding bush! as well as with the
selusion o& my own li&e. $o ) suppressed the desire to go up the ladder and peep in. -& ourse )
knew that the house would be empty! absolutely empty. 5o one would have le&t anything behind!
not even the rags o& an old shirt@ &or! to &ellows like us! everything has its value. ) even began to
grow used to the air o& mystery that hung over the plae. ) liked to think that perhaps the ghost o& an
old *3te priest! unable to rest! had now &led &rom the bush into the house to &ind some repose &rom
his restless wanderings.
-ne day when ) went to get water! ) notied a blue#blak spider with a shiny green head hunting her
prey along a wall o& the house. $he,d run like lightning &or a &ew inhes! stop! lie in wait awhile! and
then run again a short distane and wait again. Hig3agging in this way! she ompletely overed three
&eet on one plank o& the wall. 5ot a single spot had been le&t unrossed. Here and there she le&t a
&ine thread behind her! not to trap and ensnare any insets that might limb up the plank! but to slow
their progress so that a&ter searhing and returning &rom neighboring planks she ould spring at her
prey and take it in one leap. This spider takes her prey in leaps. $he springs at the inset &rom
behind and sei3es it by the nek so that whatever weapons o& sel&#de&ense it may have! whether they
are spikes! laws! or /aws! it has no hane to use them.
),d been observing this type o& spider &or days and weeks on end during my &re?uent spells out o&
work! and this one immediately attrated my attention. ) wanted to test her &ield o& vision and
disover what she,d do i& she hersel& were attaked and pursued. ) put my an o& water on the
ground and &orgot that ),d been intending to ook mysel& some rie.
) moved my hand to and &ro a &air distane above the spider. $he reated immediately. $he beame
uneasy and her 3ig3ag runs began to get irregular as she tried to esape &rom the great $omething
that might have been a bird. But the smooth plank o&&ered no hiding plae. $he waited a while!
duked slowly and are&ully! and then suddenly and ?uite une4petedly leaped hal& an arm,s length
to another board on the wall. The leap was as sure as i& it had been e4euted on the level. The other
board had a rak in it! so that it o&&ered some re&uge.
However! ) allowed the spider no time to &ind the best spot. ) took a thin twig and touhed her
lightly! &oring her to hoose another route. $he rushed away at &ranti speed! but wherever she &led
she always ran into the o&&ensive twig whih touhed her head or her bak. $o she ran in all
diretions! always pursued by the twig whih gave her no hane to get set &or a leap. $uddenly!
however! /ust as ) was twigging her on the bak! she turned around and! in a &ranti rage and with
impressive ourage! attaked the twig. To a reature o& her si3e ' she was about an inh and a hal&
long ' the twig must have seemed an ob/et o& massive proportions and supernatural powers.
2very time ) withdrew the twig! whih evidently made her think she had beaten bak or at any rate
intimidated her enemy! she tried to reah the proteting rak. Finally she did de&eat me and &ound
re&uge there! but it wasn,t enough to hide her ompletely@ hal& o& her was still e4posed.
) now slapped my hand &lat against the wall. The spider promptly reappeared and hurried o&&! higher
up! where she &ound a more &avorable avity in whih she was now almost ompletely onealed.
To hase her out o& there too! and see what she,d do in the last e4tremity! ) slapped the wall with
suh &ore that the whole house shook.
The spider didn,t re#emerge. ) waited a &ew seonds. When ) was /ust about to hit the wall another
time! something inside the house &ell over with a thump.
Whatever ould it be+ ) knew the inside o& the house. There was nothing! absolutely nothing in
there that ould &all with suh a strange sound. )t ould only have been a board or a hunk o& wood@
and yet! to /udge &rom the noise! it was neither o& these. )t sounded more like a sak&ul o& mai3e.
But when ) realled the noise! ) reali3ed there had been something strangely hard about it too. $o it
ouldn,t have been a sak&ul o& mai3e.
)t would have been simple enough to limb the &ew rungs o& the ladder! push open the door! and
look inside. But some ine4pliable &eeling held me bak. )t was as i& ) were a&raid ),d disover
something unspeakably horrible.
) piked up my an o& water and went bak to my shelter. ) persuaded mysel& that it wasn,t a &ear o&
seeing something horrible that was stopping me &rom going into the house. ) said to mysel&6 7;ou
have no business in the house@ you have no right to go in there! and in any ase whatever is in there
is no onern o& yours.7 That,s how ) e4used mysel&.
But when ) was sitting by my &ire! wondering what thing it ould have been! a strange idea ame to
me6 $omeone had hanged himsel& in the house! some time ago@ the rope had rotted or the nek had
putre&ied! and my striking at the wall had shaken the body! so that the orpse had &allen. )t had
sounded as i& a human body had toppled over and the head had struk the &loor.
But o& ourse this idea was ridiulous. )t only showed where
your imagination ould lead you i& you shied away &rom looking at the &ats. When you,re in this
state o& mind! a tree trunk in the &ield ould be a bandit waiting in ambush. Besides! in the tropis
nobody would hang himsel&. )n this part o& the world suiide is rare@ no day is gray enough &or it.
*nd i& someone really did want to do it! why! he,d go into the bush where within three days the only
part o& him that would still be reogni3able would be the bukle o& his belt.
Whenever ) went to get water ) made a point o& not looking into the house@ ) even avoided looking
&or any hink through whih ) ould peep. The vague! the mysterious meant more to me than a
possibly prosai e4planation. But when ) sat by the &ire in the evening or lay awake at night! my
thoughts would turn to what might be inside the house.
-n $aturday ) went to "r. $hine and asked i& there,d been any message &rom the oil amp. But "r.
$hine hadn,t gone to the store all week! and wouldn,t be going the &ollowing week either. *s
"onday was the &irst o& the month and the driller whose plae ) was to take ould be starting his
vaation then! ) deided to go down to the store mysel& on $unday morning. ) would take my bundle
with me and be ready to start o&& at one i& word had ome through. That way ) ould be in the
amp on $unday a&ternoon. )& there was no message ),d know that the driller was either not going on
vaation or that he,d made some other arrangement. )n that ase ),d ontinue on to the station and
simply arry out my plan o& going to %uatemala.
2arly $unday morning ) went to get water &or my o&&ee. ),d got the water and was already past the
house when ) deided that! a&ter all! ),d go inside and see what there was to see. )& ) didn,t! the
thought o& it would probably plague me &or months to ome.
) limbed the &ew rungs o& the ladder and pushed open the door. $omething was lying by the wall to
my right ' a large bundle. ) ouldn,t see what it was right away! in the dawn light.
) stepped over to it. )t was a man. Aead1
)t was %on3alo.
%on3alo! dead.
"urdered1
His ragged shirt was blak with dried blood. * ball o& otton! rumpled in his right hand! was
likewise aked with blood. He had a stab in the bak! and &urther stabs in the hest! the right
shoulder! and the le&t arm.
-bviously the body had been propped up against the wall@ when ) had struk! it had &allen sideways
and the head had hit the &loor.
) searhed his pokets I &ive pesos and eighty#&ive entavos. He should have had at least twenty#
&ive to thirty pesos.
$o it had been &or the money.
* little anvas tobao pouh lay open beside him. There were a &ew orn husks on the &loor. He
had been attaked while rolling himsel& a igarette right there where he now lay.
The Chink and *ntonio had been the last to leave the house. The Chink wasn,t the murderer. He
wouldn,t so muh as touh anyone &or the sake o& twenty pesos@ he was &ar too lever &or that.
Those twenty pesos would have ost too dear &or the Chink.
*ntonio then.
),d never have thought it o& him.
) put the money bak into %on3alo,s poket and le&t him where he lay.
Then ) wedged the door into position as ),d &ound it and le&t the house.
) gave up the idea o& making o&&ee and set o&& at one. ) went to "r. $hine and told him that ) was
going to the store! and that i& there was nothing doing at the oil amp ),d ontinue on my way.
7Aidn,t you &eel lonely in your airy apartment! %ales+7 he asked.
75o!7 ) said. 7There was so muh to see and so many things to wath that the time passed very
?uikly.7
7) thought you might have moved into the house. *&ter all! it is a house.7
7) told you when ) ame bak &rom the oil &ield that it was swarming with mos?uitoes.7
7"y two nephews are oming on a visit at 5ew ;ear,s. )t,ll be a holiday &or them. ),ll put them in
there! and they an do as they like. They an make a start by smoking out the mos?uitoes. Well!
%ales! good luk to you17
We shook hands and o&& ) went.
Why should ) have said anything+ 5o one would think that ) was the murderer! &or hadn,t ) le&t
be&ore all the other &ellows and been working at the oil amp all the time+ )& ) had said something
about it! there would have been endless ?uestions and omings and goings and who knows what
else! and ) should never have been able to get to the oil &ield in time.
8
) was paid o&& when the driller returned &rom his vaation. -ne o& the truks took me to the station
and &rom there ) traveled on to a small town on the oast. ) didn,t stop long but went straight on to
the ne4t si3able town so that! provided ) didn,t hange my plans again! ) ould get to %uatemala
within a &ew days.
While ) was in town ) wanted to keep my ear to the ground and &ind out how things were in the
south! whether there was anything behind the rumors o& new oil &ields! what the hanes o&
employment were or whether ) wouldn,t do better to make traks &or the *rgentine. But ) heard too
muh about the mass unemployment down there. %hastly stories ) heard. 2ighty thousand in the
gutter in Buenos *ires alone! /ust looking &or a hane to get out o& there. *nyhow! it ouldn,t be
worse than it was in "e4io.
) went over to the park and sat around on a benh. ) had a shoe shine! drank a glass o& ie water!
and! &eeling at peae with mysel& and all the world! was /ust about to take a siesta when ) notied
that an a?uaintane was sitting on a benh opposite me.
) went over to him. 7Hello! *ntonio!7 ) said. 7How are you+ What are you doing here+7
We shook hands. He was very pleased to see me. ) sat down beside him and told him that ) was
looking &or a /ob.
7That,s &ine. ),ve been working in a bakery here &or two weeks! baking bread and akes. ;ou ould
start in right away@ they,re looking &or an assistant. ;ou ever worked as a baker+7
75o. ),ve had a hundred di&&erent /obs! ),ve even been a amel drover I and what a goddamned /ob
that is I but ),ve never been a baker.7
7Fine17 said *ntonio. 7)n that ase you,ll be all right. )& you really were a baker or knew anything
about baking! it,d be no good. The owner,s a Frenhman@ he knows nothing about baking. )& you tell
him that pepper,ll improve the loa&! he,ll believe you. -& ourse he,ll ask you i& you,re a baker and
you must tell him without batting an eyelash that you,ve been in the trade ever sine you were a
boy. The master baker is a Aane! a ship,s ook who /umped ship. He knows nothing about baking!
either. His worry is that some day someone who really knows something about baking will get a /ob
there. That would be the end o& the Aane and his master#baking. ;es! a real baker would si3e him
up in less than ten minutes. $o i& the master asks you anything! you say the very opposite o& what
you say to the owner. %et the idea+ ;ou must tell the master baker that it,s the &irst time in all your
li&e you,ve seen the inside o& a bakery. Then he,ll take you on at one and be ?uite hummy with
you.7
7) an play that game!7 ) said. 7What,s the pay+7
7-ne twenty#&ive a day.7
7Bare+7
7Aon,t make me laugh. With room and board. $oap is &ree! too. By all means it,s better than otton#
piking! ) an tell you.7
7What,s the &ood like+ *ny good+7
7Well! it,s not too bad.7
7"mmmm...7
7But you always get enough.7
7) know the stomah &illers only too well.7
*ntonio laughed and nodded. He rolled himsel& a igarette! o&&ered me one whih ) didn,t take! and
a&ter a &ew pu&&s! he said6 7Between ourselves! the &ood,s all right. The bakers and pastry ooks use
eggs and sugar@ it,s a real pleasure to handle the &ood. 0nderstand! a do3en eggs here or there aren,t
missed! and three eggs ?uikly broken into an odd up and beaten up with some sugar helps the diet
along. )& you do this three or &our times during the night! you &eel &ine.7
7What are the hours then+7
7They vary. $ometimes we start at ten at night and work until one! two! or three in the a&ternoon I
sometimes until &ive.7
7That makes &i&teen to nineteen hours a day then+7
7*bout that! but not always. $ometimes! generally on Tuesdays and Thursdays! we don,t start until
twelve.7
7)t,s not e4atly tempting!7 ) said.
7But we might as well work there until we an &ind something better.7
7-& ourse!7 ) said. 7)& there were thirty#si4 hours in the day there,d be plenty o& time to look around
&or something better. *h well! ),ll give it a try.7
The thought that &rom now on ) would be working with a murderer day and night! eating &rom the
same pot! perhaps sleeping in the same room! this thought didn,t our to me at one. 2ither ),d sunk
so low morally that ),d lost all &eeling &or suh nieties o& ivili3ation! or ),d moved so &ar ahead o&
my time and so &ar above the moral standards o& the day that ) understood every human ation! and
neither took upon mysel&
the right to ondemn nor indulged in the heap sentimentality o& pity. For pity is also a
ondemnation! even i& not so reogni3ed! even i& it is unonsious. $hould ) have &elt a horror o&
*ntonio! a revulsion against shaking his hand+ There are so many thieves and murderers on the
loose with diamonds on their &ingers and big pearls in their nekties or gold stars on their epaulettes!
and deent people think nothing o& shaking hands with them! but even regard it an honor to do so.
2very lass has its thieves and murderers. Those o& my lass are hanged@ others are invited to the
president,s ball and omplain about the rimes and immorality o& workmen like me.
When you have to struggle hard to get a rust o& bread! you &ind yoursel& down in the mire!
&loundering among the sum o& humanity.
) &elt the blood rushing to my head as these thoughts went round in my mind. *ntonio suddenly
brought me bak to earth with the ?uestion6 7Ao you know who else is in town+7
7How should ) know+ ) /ust got here last evening.7
7$am Woe! the Chink.7
7What,s he doing here in Tampio+7
7;ou know he was always talking about the eating house he was going to open I7
7;ou mean he opened one+7
7;ou bet he did. When a Chink like $am Woe makes up his mind to do something! he does it. He
runs his business with a &ellow ountryman.7
7;ou know! *ntonio! you and ) haven,t the &lair &or suh things. ),m ?uite sure that i& ) were to open
a restaurant! people would start being born without stomahs! /ust to make sure ) didn,t get a break.7
*ntonio laughed. 7That,s my luk too. ),ve had a igarette stall! a on&etionery booth@ ),ve lugged
ie water around! and tried %od knows what else. ) hardly ever sold anything! and ) went broke
every time.7
7) think! *ntonio! it,s beause we an,t bring ourselves to downright swindling. *nd you have to
know how to swindle i& you want to be a suess in business.7
7) suppose we should go and look up the Chink. He,d be pleased to see you too. ) like to eat out now
and then! &or a hange! you know. ;ou an get sik o& the same old grub where you work.7
$o! we went o&& to the ;ellow Juarter where the Chinese lived and had their shops and restaurants.
Kery &ew o& them had businesses in other parts o& the town. They liked to rowd together.
$am was genuinely pleased to see me. He kept pressing my hand! laughing and prattling. He invited
us to sit down! and we ordered a omida orrida.
Chinese eating houses are all muh alike in this ountry. They have simple! s?uare wooden tables!
&re?uently not more than three o& them! with three or &our hairs to eah. )n view o& the number o&
dishes you get! not more than three very good#natured ustomers an sit at one table at the same
time. ;ou an usually see what,s going on in the kithen &rom where you sit. The nature and
number o& dishes is the same in all the Chinese plaes in town. That,s how they rule out un&air
ompetition among themselves.
$am had &ive tables. -n eah table stood a big#bellied! reddish#brown lay water /ug o& an anient
*3te pattern. Then there was a glass bottle ontaining oil and another one with vinegar. )n
addition! there were a big bowl o& sugar and several small bowls! one with salt! one with a reddish
powdered pepper! and one with hile saue. Hal& a teaspoon o& the hot hile saue in your soup is
enough to make it absolutely un&it to eat.
$am served the ustomers while his partner! with the help o& a "e4ian girl! looked a&ter the
ooking. First we were given a hunk o& ie in a glass whih we &illed with water. 5e4t! we got a
large roll! there alled a bolillo! and the soup &ollowed. )t,s always one variety o& noodle soup or
another. *ntonio sattered a large soup#spoon&ul o& green hile saue into his soup! and ) took two
heaping ones. ),ve already said that hal& a teaspoon o& this &iery saue seasons the soup so highly
that it,s impossible &or a normal person to eat. But then! ),m not normal. While we were still dipping
into our soup! the meat arrived! with &ried potatoes! a dish o& rie! a dish o& beans. 5ow ame a dish
o& stew. *ll the ourses were put on the table at the same time.
Then! as usual! the swapping began. *ntonio swapped his beans &or tomato salad! whih he
prepared himsel& at the table! and ) swapped my stew &or an omelette.
5ow *ntonio put his rie into his soup@ i& he,d kept his beans he,d have put them in as well.
*pparently he got enough beans at the bakery! but tomato salad was a treat.
) shook a layer o& pepper onto my meat and another layer onto the &ried potatoes. Then ) seasoned
the rie with hile saue and sweetened the beans with sugar.
*t the end o& the meal we were eah served a dule I a sweet I and ) had a&L on lehe! that is!
o&&ee with hot milk! but *ntonio took only the hot milk.
*ntonio and ) e4hanged small talk while eating. We didn,t want to spoil our digestion by ta4ing
our brains with pro&undities.
For our meal we paid &i&ty entavos eah! all inluded. )t was the usual prie in a Chinese
restaurant! a a&L de hinos.
*nd now we sailed along to the bakery. ) went into the pastry shop and asked a lerk i& ) ould see
the boss.
7*re you a baker+7 the owner asked me.
7;es! baker and pastry ook.7
7Where were you working last+7
7)n "onterrey.7
7%ood. ;ou an start tonight. Free room! board! laundry! and ) pay you one peso twenty#&ive a day. Wait a moment!7 he
added suddenly. 7*re you good on akes! akes with &any iing+7
7)n my last /ob in "onterrey ) did nothing but akes with &any iing.7
7Fine. But ),d better have a word with my master baker and hear what he says. He,s a &irst#lass
man. ;ou an learn a lot &rom him.7
He took me into a dormitory! where the master was in the at o& putting on his shoes! getting ready
to go out.
7Here,s a baker &rom "onterrey who,s looking &or work. $ee i& he,s any use to you.7 The boss went
bak to his o&&ie and le&t the two o& us alone.
The master! a short! &at &ellow with &rekles! didn,t hurry himsel&. He &inished putting on his shoes
and then seated himsel& on the edge o& his bed and lit a igar. When he,d taken a &ew pu&&s he
looked at me suspiiously! looked me up and down and said6 7*re you a baker+7
75o!7 ) said. 7To tell you the truth! ) don,t know muh about baking.7
7Deally+7 he said! still suspiious. 7Ao you know anything about akes+7
7),ve eaten them!7 ) said! 7but ),ve no idea how they,re made. That,s /ust what ) want to learn.7
7Well! have a igar. ;ou an start tonight at ten s Would you like something to eat+7
75ot /ust now! thank you /ust the same.7
7*ll right. ),ll have a word with the old man. 5ow ),ll show you your bed.7 )t seemed he,d lost all
his mistrust o& me! and was very &riendly.
7),ll make a good baker and pastry ook out o& you i& you pay attention to what ) have to tell you
and don,t try bringing in new#&angled ideas o& your own. That would never do you any good around
here.7
7),ll be most grate&ul to you! se=or. ),ve always wanted to beome a baker and pastry ook o& the
&irst order.7
7;ou an have a nap now i& you want one! or you an have a look around the town I /ust as you
like.7
7*ll right!7 ) said! 7),ll take a walk in the town.7
7Well! ten o,lok! don,t &orget.7
9
) met *ntonio! as agreed! in the park.
7Well+7 he greeted me &rom the benh where he sat.
7),m starting tonight.7
7That,s &ine. "aybe later on ) might hike down to Colombia with you.7
) sat down beside him.
) ouldn,t think o& anything to talk about and! searhing in my mind &or some sub/et o&
onversation! it ourred to me that this might be a good moment to mention %on3alo. *tually )
wasn,t so muh interested in talking about it as in observing his reation and seeing how a man with
murder on his onsiene would behave when someone surprised him by dislosing that he knew all
about the rime.
There was! no doubt! a ertain risk involved. )& *ntonio disovered ) knew he was a murderer! he,d
make it his business to do away with me at the &irst hane. But ) was prepared to run the risk@ the
very danger made me ith to throw my ard on the table &ae up. ) wouldn,t be taken by surprise and
was ?uite able to de&end mysel&! although ) would ertainly avoid tramping through the bush! or
going to Colombia! with him as my only ompanion.
7Ao you know! *ntonio!7 ) said suddenly! out o& nowhere! 7that you,re wanted by the polie+7
7"e+7 He seemed ?uite astonished.
7;es! you17
7What &or+ ) don,t know o& anything ),ve done wrong.7
)t sounded very genuine! a bit too genuine to be on the level! ) thought.
7For murder1 "urder and robbery17
7;ou,re nuts! %ales. "e wanted &or murder+ ;ou,re badly mistaken. True! ) was mi4ed up with
2miliano Hapata! but no murder. )t must be someone else with the same name.7
75ot a matter o& mistaken identity!7 ) said! getting tired o& that at and mouse play. ) let loose!
almost shouting6 7Aid know that %on3alo is dead+7
7What+7 he shouted! even louder than ) had.
7;es!7 ) said! very ?uietly now! yet wathing him intently! 7%on3alo is dead@ murdered and
robbed.7
7<oor devil. He was ertainly a good guy!7 *ntonio said sympathetially.
7;es!7 ) agreed! 7he was a deent &ellow. )t,s a pity. Where did you see him last! *ntonio+7
7)n the house! where we all had been sleeping during the harvest.7
7"r. $hine told me that the three o& you I you! %on3alo! and $am I le&t his plae together.7
7)& "r. $hine says that! he,s mistaken. %on3alo stayed behind. -nly the two o& us! $am and )! went
to the station to ath the train.7
7) don,t understand!7 ) put in. 7"r. $hine was standing at the window and de&initely saw the three o&
you.7
*t this! *ntonio gave a short laugh and said6 7"r. $hine is right! and ),m right too. The third man
with us wasn,t %on3alo but a man &rom nearby! a native who ame to buy the hens &rom *braham
beause he thought he,d get them heap. But *braham le&t two days be&ore and had already sold
them! to "r. $hine ) think.7
7)n the house where you last saw %on3alo!7 ) said! slowly now! 7) &ound him murdered and robbed.
That is to say! he hadn,t been robbed o& everything@ the murderer had le&t him a little over &ive
pesos.7
7) wish ) ould be serious about this tragi story!7 said *ntonio! smiling slightly to himsel&! 7but )
an,t help laughing. The rest o& %on3alo,s money is in my poket.7
7There you are1 That,s /ust what ),ve been talking about.7
7;ou may have been talking about it your way! %ales!7 replied *ntonio! 7but ) won the money &rom
him. $am knows all about it@ he was there at the time. $am lost &ive pesos himsel&. He would have a
stake in it.7
This was a strange story indeed.
7$am! mysel&! and the )ndian neighbor! we le&t the house together. %on3alo wanted to stay behind
and have a good sleep. ) went with $am by train to Celaya. $am went on by train! and ) did the rest
o& the way here partly on &oot and by riding &reights &or a &ew strethes.7
What *ntonio said rang true. What was more! he had $am &or a witness. That *ntonio should have
traveled bak the long distane &rom Celaya to murder %on3alo seemed highly improbable. He had
already won %on3alo,s money! honestly! as $am ould testi&y. %on3alo had no valuables o& any
kind. 2ah o& us knew the entire possessions o& the others! and none o& us ould have sereted
anything on his person! &or we were all going around hal& naked. There remained no grounds &or
suspiion. *ntonio was innoent.
7Well! my dear *ntonio! you must aept my sinere apologies &or thinking that you,d be guilty o&
%on3alo,s murder or responsible &or his death.7
7That,s okay! %ales. 5o o&&ense taken. But all the same! ) wouldn,t have thought that you,d have
been so ?uik to suspet me. ),ve never given anyone ause to think badly o& me! have )+7
7True! you haven,t. But you know it was remarkable how all the irumstanes pointed against you.
;ou and $am were the last with %on3alo in the house. )&! as you say! %on3alo didn,t go with you!
he never le&t the house@ he was murdered there. "r. $hine told me that no one else had been around
sine you le&t. There,s nothing to steal there! and there,s no trail nearby that ould lead anyone there
by hane. ) was up that way again beause ) had to wait &or a message &rom the oil &ield. )t was
sheer uriosity that made me look inside the house! where ) &ound %on3alo dead. He had several
kni&e wounds! the most serious o& whih was a stab in the hest &rom whih he,d evidently bled to
death.7
*s ) went on desribing the wounds! a terrible hange ame over *ntonio. He turned as white as a
sheet! stared at me with horri&ied eyes! moved his lips! and gulped again and again. But no words
ame. With his le&t hand he worked at his &ae and about his throat as though he wanted to tear the
&lesh away! while with his right hand he groped toward my shoulder and my hest as i& he were
trying to disover i& there really were someone sitting beside him or i& it were only a &igment o& his
imagination! a dream &rom whih he would awake.
) was at a loss to know what to make o& it. )t /ust didn,t make sense. *ntonio had suddenly taken on
the appearane o& a guilty man who had /ust begun to reali3e the &ull impliations o& his dark deed.
*nd only a &ew moments be&ore he,d been laughing at the thought that ) suspeted him o& %on3alo,s
murder. How was ) to &igure out his behavior+ *nd yet ) must@ otherwise ),d get lost in my own
on&used thoughts. ) might even begin to imagine that ),d killed %on3alo mysel&1 The park lights
ame on. 5ight had suddenly losed in around us. Aarkness had &allen within the moments sine the
start o& *ntonio,s inner battle! &or ),d last seen his &ae! open and guileless! in lear sunset light.
Then the oming o& night had obsured what ),d glimpsed o& the true! the undisguised *ntonio.
What should have been &or me the un&orgettable e4periene o& studying the &eatures o& a man
assailed by the powers o& darkness! shaken! moved! his every hair and every pore eletri&ied! was
now distorted by the harsh lights. They lied! throwing lines and shadows into *ntonio,s &ae that
were in truth not there.
But his warm breath was truth! his groping! lawing &ingers were truth. *ll the rest was &ootlights.
*n )ndian laborer was sitting on a benh near us! ragged like tens o& thousands o& others o& his lass
beause their wages are barely su&&iient to pay &or their &ood. )t o&ten happened that suh a laborer
had nothing le&t over &or a thirty#entavo bunk in one o& the many &lophouses I dormitorios!
they,re alled I where in the morning &i&ty or eighty or a hundred bed&ellows o& every rae and
every nation! a&&lited with every disease in the medial ditionary as well as others that no dotor
had heard about as yet! all washed in the same bowl! all dried themselves on the same towel! and
ombed themselves with the same omb.
The )ndian had &allen asleep on the benh. His limbs sagged and his overworked! e4hausted body
was rumpled into a heap o& rags.
*t this moment a polieman ame sneaking up. He irled the benh! his eyes glued on the man
sleeping there. Then! when he was again behind the benh! he raised his leather whip and brought it
down hard and pitilessly on the shoulder o& the sleeping man! at the same time yelling at him6 7;ou
bum! you! get up! out o& here or ),ll turn you in1 The law prohibits sleeping in the park and you
know it. %et going be&ore ) get seriously rough with you.7
With a suppressed groan the )ndian plunged &orward as i& a sword had slashed into him. Then his
body /erked upward again and! writhing and moaning! he &elt &or his tortured shoulder. The
polieman now stepped in &ront o& him and grinned maliiously. %reat tears o& pain streamed down
the )ndian,s &ae. But he said nothing. He didn,t get up. He remained sitting where he was! &or he
like any other iti3en was entitled to his park seat. 5o one ould deny his right to sit on the benh!
however ragged he might be and however many elegant aballeros and se=oritas might be strolling
about to en/oy the ool o& the evening and listen to the bandstand musi.
;es! the )ndian knew that he was a iti3en o& a &ree ountry! where a millionaire had no more right
to oupy a park benh than a penniless native. The )ndian ould have sat there &or twenty#&our
hours i& he,d wanted to! but sleeping on a park benh wasn,t permitted. Freedom didn,t go that &ar!
though the benh was in Freedom $?uare. (oally! it was the sort o& &reedom in whih anyone in
authority ould whip anyone not in authority6 the age#old antagonism between two worlds! almost
as old as the story o& the e4pulsion &rom <aradise@ the age#old antagonism between the polie and
the weary! burdened ones! the tired and hungry. The )ndian had been in the wrong and he knew it@
that was why he said nothing but only moaned. $atan or %abriel I this polieman regarded himsel&
as the latter I was in the right.
5o1 He wasn,t in the right1 5o1 5o1 The blood rushed to my head. )n 2ngland! %ermany! the 0$*!
everywhere it is the polie who do the whipping and the one in rags who gets whipped. *nd then
the people who sit smugly at their well#laden tables are surprised when someone roks the table!
overturns it! and shatters everything to &ragments. * bullet wound heals. * ut with a whip never
heals. )t eats ever more deeply into the &lesh! reahes the heart and &inally the brain! releasing a ry
to make the very earth tremble! a ry o& 7Devenge17 Why is Dussia in the hands o& the bolshies+
Beause the Dussians were a people most whipped be&ore the rise o& the new era. The polieman,s
whip or lub prepares the way &or an o&&ensive that makes ontinents ?uiver and politial systems
e4plode.
Woe to the omplaent and smug when the whipped ry 7Devenge17 Woe to the satiated when the
welts o& lashes eat into the hearts o& the hungry and turn the minds o& the long#su&&ering1 ) was
&ored to beome a rebel and a revolutionary! a revolutionary out o& love o& /ustie! out o& a desire
to help the wrethed and the ragged. The sight o& in/ustie and ruelty makes as many
revolutionaries as do privation and hunger.
) leaped to my &eet and got over to the benh where the polieman was still standing! drawing his
whip through his hand! slashing it through the air! grinning bright#eyed at his writhing vitim. He
took no notie o& me. -bviously he thought that ) was /ust going to sit down on the benh.
But ) went right up to him and said6 7Take me to the polie station at one. ),m going to report you.
;our instrutions only give you the right to use the whip i& you are attaked! or in a street riot a&ter
you,ve given warning. ;ou must know that.7
7But the dog was asleep on the benh here.7 The little devil o& a op sarely taller than &ive &eet!
was trying to de&end himsel&.
7;ou ould have awakened him and told him that he shouldn,t sleep here! and i& he &ell asleep
again you ould then have turned him o&& the benh! but under no irumstanes should you strike
him. $o ome along with me to the station. By tomorrow you won,t have a hane to whip anyone.7
The little op eyed me &or a moment! took note that ) was a white man! and reali3ed that ) was in
earnest. He hung his whip onto the hook o& his belt! and with one lightning leap disappeared as i&
the earth had swallowed him.
The )ndian! without a word! disappeared into the night. ) walked slowly bak to where ) had le&t
*ntonio. What now! when ) see him again+
What is murder+ ) thought. )t all omes to the same thing! the law o& the /ungle. The whole world is
a /ungle. 2at or be eaten1 The &ly by the spider! the spider by the bird! the bird by the snake I so it
went! round and round. 0ntil there ame a world disaster! or a revolution@ and the whole irle
would begin again! only the other way around.
*ntonio! you were right1 ;ou are right1 The living are always right1 )t is the dead who are guilty. )&
you hadn,t murdered %on3alo! he,d have murdered you. <erhaps. 5o! ertainly. )t,s the law o& the
/ungle. ;ou pik it up so ?uikly in the bush. )t,s all around you and! a&ter all! is only the natural
result o& an outstanding apaity &or imitation.
10
75o!7 said *ntonio! almer now! 7) ertainly didn,t mean to kill %on3alo. )t might /ust as well have
been me. Believe me! amigo mio1 ),m not to blame &or his death.7
7) know! *ntonio. )t might /ust as well have been you. )t,s the bush that grabs us all by the sru&& o&
the nek and has us at its mery.7
7;es1 ;ou,re right! %ales! it,s the bush. Here in town we,d never have hit on suh a ra3y idea. But
the bush talks to you the whole night through6 a /ungle pheasant giving his death ry as he,s
attaked! a ougar howling as he goes to the kill@ nothing but blood and stri&e. )n the bush it,s teeth@
with us it was knives. But! honestly! it was only a game1 We did it &or &un I really! only &un!
nothing more.
7We used knives! but it might /ust as well have been die! or ards! or a roulette wheel. The point
was that a&ter seven weeks, work we didn,t have enough money le&t to get away &rom that
god&orsaken plae to look &or something better. We had /ust about the same amount. %on3alo had a
little over twenty pesos. ) had twenty#&ive.
7)t was $unday night. We wanted to be on our way on "onday morning. Charley had le&t a &ew
days be&ore@ *braham had gone too. That le&t the three o& us! %on3alo! $am! and me.
7We ounted out our money on the &loor. 2ah o& us had some gold piees! and the small hange in
silver. *nd as the money lay there be&ore us! hardly visible in the light o& the &ire! %on3alo let &ly.
7 ,What an ) do with these &ew lousy oppers+, he asked. EHere we,ve been! slaving away like mad
&or seven long weeks! seven days a week! &rom dawn to sundown! all through the bla3ing heat. We
limped home so done in we ould hardly move our &ingers to ook our miserable grub that we were
too tired to swallow. We slept on the &loor. 5o $unday! no pleasure! no musi! no daning! no girls!
no drinking I only some stinking tobao rolled in orn husks. *nd now look I what,s the use o&
these lousy oppers+,
7He shoved the money away with his &oot.
7 ,"y shirt is in rags!, he grumbled on. ,"y pants are rags. "y sandals I take a look at them!
*ntonio I no soles! no nothing. )n the end! a&ter sweating like a work horse! there,s nothing le&t. )&
only it were &orty pesos1,
7$aying this! his &ae lit up.
7 ,With &orty pesos ) ould manage. ) ould go to "e4io City! buy mysel& some deent lothes so
that i& ) wanted to say buenas tardes to a girl she,d see me as a human being. *nd ),d still have a &ew
pesos to tide me over &or a &ew days.,
7 E;ou,re right! %on3alo!, ) said! E&orty pesos is /ust the sum ) need to buy the absolute neessities.,
7 ,Ao you know what ),m thinking+, %on3alo went on. E(et,s play &or the money. 5either o& us an
get anywhere with the &ew sikly oppers we,ve got. )& you get my money or ) get yours! then at
least one o& us an do something. *s it is! we,re both bums. ),d drink away these &ew oppers at one
sitting! /ust out o& rage at having worked &or nothing.,
7%on3alo,s idea wasn,t bad!7 *ntonio went on with his tale. 7) too would have drunk up the little )
had le&t. -ne you get started on that goddamned te?uila! you don,t stop until the last entavo,s
gone. ;ou go on drinking! drunk or sober@ and what you don,t get down your gullet! your &ellow
boo3ers will swig &or you. The a&L and &lophouse keepers will heat a drunk! and the miserable
oins that are le&t are pinhed &rom your poket. ;ou know all about it! %ales.7
Aidn,t )! though. ) knew heap te?uila. ;ou shudder a&ter eah opita and have to gulp down
something &or a haser. The barkeeper! or antinero! is always wise enough to keep a supply o&
pikled botanas on stiks! but they burn your throat. $o you keep on gu33ling te?uila! drenhing
your gi33ard with the stu&& as i& bewithed or as i& the damned throat#stripper were some magi
eli4ir whih! &or some mysterious reason! had to be shot down without touhing the tongue. *nd
when at last you think you,ve had enough! you,ve eased to e4ist. 2verything is wiped away I
trouble! sorrow! anger! passion. -nly absolute nothingness remains. World and ego are dispersed.
*ntonio brooded &or a while! as though searhing his memory. Then he went on6 7We had no ards
and no die. We drew stiks. But the same stake o& one peso kept passing &rom one to the other. )t
was never more than &ive pesos that hanged hands. Then we played heads or tails. $trange! it still
was never more than a &ew pesos that passed &rom one poket to the other. $am played too! and his
money didn,t hange muh either. "eanwhile it had got late I ten or eleven o,lok by my
/udgment.
7Then %on3alo got wild and ursed like a madman. He,d had enough o& this kid,s game! he said! and
wanted to know &or sure how he,d stand in the morning.
7 ,Well! %on3alo! what do you say we ought to do+,
7 ,) don,t know!, he said. ,That,s /ust what makes me so mad.
Here we are &ooling around like hal&#witted kids and not getting anywhere#bak and &orth all the
time. )t,s enough to drive you up the pole.,
7Then! a&ter s?uatting by the &ire &or a while! staring into the embers! rolling himsel& one igarette
a&ter another and throwing them into the &ire hal& smoked! he /umped up suddenly and said! E) know
what we,ll do. We,ll have an *3te duel &or the whole stake.,
7 ,*n *3te duel+, ) asked. EWhat,s that+,
7 ,What+ ;ou don,t know the *3te duel+, %on3alo was! genuinely surprised.
7 ,5o. How should )! %on3alo+ "y &amily is o& $panish desent! even i& we have been here &or more
than a hundred years. ),ve never heard o& an *3te duel.,
7 ,)t,s ?uite simple! *ntonio. We take two young! straight saplings! trim them lean! tie our knives
seurely to the tips! and then hurl them at eah other! until one or the other o& us gives up &rom
e4haustion. -ne o& us will tire be&ore the other@ the one who stays on his &eet wins! and gets the
money. That will deide the money.,
7) thought it over &or a &ew moments. )t seemed a ra3y idea to me.
7 ,;ou,re not sared by any hane! are you! $paniard+, laughed %on3alo.
7There was a &unny sort o& sneer in his voie and this made me &lare up6 ,$ared o& you+ -& an
)ndian+ * $paniard is never sared1 ),ll show you1 Come on! let,s have your *3te duel1,
7We took a &laming stik &rom the &ire and stumbled around in the bush until we,d &ound two
suitable saplings. $am had been direted to bring plenty o& &uel and build up a good &ire so that we
ould see where we were aiming. We stripped the saplings and tied our opened poketknives &irmly
to their tips.
7 ,We don,t let the whole blade stik out!, said %on3alo. ,We don,t want to murder eah other. )t,s
only a game. The blade needn,t stik out more than an inh. There! that,s right1, he said! looking at
my spear.
,5ow we must bind a piee o& heavy wood near the blade end to give the spear its proper sha&t
weight@ otherwise it,ll wobble and won,t &ly straight.,
7Then we padded our le&t arms with grass and wrapped them round with a oarse onvas sak. EThis
is important!, %on3alo e4plained. EThat,s where the &un omes in! athing and parrying the spear.
The well#padded arm serves as a shield did in anient times. ;ou know! the old *3te warriors also
used shields. ;ou must understand! in this duel we are &ighting! that we don,t want to kill one
another! only e4haust the other partner. .eep all this in mind@ it is supposed to be only a game@
7When we,d got everything ready! $am said6 EWhat about me+ *m ) supposed to stand by and
wath+ ) want to be in on it too.,
7The Chink was right. He had to have something &or his trouble as stakeholder and witness. ;ou
know what devils the Chinese are &or gambling! don,t you! %ales+ They,d gamble away the prie o&
their own &uneral i& given the hane.
7 ,5ow see here! $am!, %on3alo said to the Chink! ,you an bet on one o& us.,
7 ,%ood!, $am said. ,),ll bet on you! %on3alo! &ive pesos. ;ou give me &ive pesos i& you win. )& you
lose! you get &ive pesos &lom me. )t,s not in youl intelest to lose! beause that would mean good#bye
to youl twenty pesos.,
7We eah deposited our twenty pesos! whih $am plaed be&ore him on a stone@ then he added his
own stake o& &ive pesos. $am paed o&& twenty#&ive steps &rom either side o& the &ire! and we eah
plaed a wooden pole on the marks. )& either duelist overstepped his mark he would &or&eit &ive
pesos to the other.
7Then we started throwing the spears at eah other! parrying eah spear with our grass#girded arm
as it ame to us! and then returning it. With the &ire &likering and smoking as it was ) ould see
%on3alo only in unertain outline. ) ould hardly see the spear as it &lew toward me! the night was
so pith dark. *t the seond throw ) got a stab in my right shoulder. ;ou an still see the wound!
%ales.7
He pulled his shirt &rom his shoulder and ) saw the stab wound! still not healed.
7%radually! we got into our stride! or! rather! we got worked up. *&ter a &ew more e4hanges ) got
another stab whih went through my trousers and into my leg. But ) was a long way &rom &inished.
7How long we kept on throwing! ) don,t know. *s neither o& us would give in! the tempo beame
more and more wild.
*n element o& savagery entered into the math! and anybody wathing us then never would have
believed that it was only a game.
7<erhaps we threw &or hal& an hour! perhaps &or an hour@ ) don,t know. 5either did ) know i& ),d hit
%on3alo at all seri ously. But ) knew that ) was beginning to tire. The spear began to &eel as i& it
weighed twenty pounds! and my throwing slowed down. Be&ore long ) &ound mysel& hardly able to
bend down to pik up the spear! and one when ) was bending ) almost ollapsed. But ) knew that )
mustn,t allow mysel& to sink to the ground@ i& ) did ) would ertainly be unable to get on my &eet
again.
7) ouldn,t see %on3alo now. ) ouldn,t see anything at all. ) kept throwing the spears in the
diretion where ) &igured he must be. ) no longer ared whether ) hit him or not. *ll that worried me
was that ) shouldn,t be the &irst to stop. $o! as the spears kept oming &rom the other side! ) kept
throwing them bak.
7$uddenly! as the &ire &lared up &or an instant! ) saw %on3alo turning around to look &or the spear!
whih evidently had missed him widely. He went bak a &ew steps! &ound it! piked it up! and then!
as he turned toward me to throw it! &ell on his knees as heavily as i& someone had knoked him
down with a terri&i blow.
7) didn,t throw the spear whih ) had in my hand beause ) was only too glad to stand it upright and
lean on it@ otherwise ),d have dropped to the ground. )& %on3alo had gotten to his &eet and thrown
his spear! ) ouldn,t have li&ted my arm to ward it o&& or to throw it bak.
7But %on3alo remained on his knees. $am ran to him and alled out6 ,Thel,! now! ),ve lost my &ive
pesos. *ntonio! you,ve won. %on3alo,s given up.,
7) dragged mysel& to a bo4 near the &ire! but hadn,t the strength to sit down on it. ) dropped to the
ground by the side o& it. $am dragged %on3alo to the &ire and gave him some water! whih he
gulped down.
7) now saw that his hest was overed with blood. But ) was past being interested in anything
around me. "y head dropped! and as ) opened my eyes ) saw that my hest was as streaked with
blood as %on3alo,s. But ) didn,t are. 5othing seemed to matter.
7$am brought me the &orty pesos and stu&&ed them into my poket. ) saw him also put &ive pesos
into %on3alo,s poket. ) had the &eeling that all this was happening a long way o&&.
7We stayed like this &or a good hal& hour! maybe a whole hour. The &ire died down.
7Then $am said! E),m going to lie down and get some lest.,
7) ehoed these words! as they were my own6 E;es! ),m going to lie down and get some rest.,
7) saw %on3alo get up! too! and staggering and luthing like me! he lambered up the ladder and
into the house.
7When ),d dropped to the &loor and /ust as ) was do3ing o&&! ) heard %on3alo say6 E)& you leave early
in the morning and ),m not up! don,t bother to wake me. ) want to get a good long sleep. ),m beat.
*nyway! ) an,t travel with you on the train@ ) haven,t got the &are.,
7Be&ore dawn! $am gave me a nudge. )t was time to be o&&. We had to be at the station by eight
o,lok that evening@ otherwise we,d lose two days. )t was still pith dark. ) ould see nothing in the
hut! not even %on3alo. We didn,t wake him but let him sleep undisturbed! and! piking up our
bundles! were o&& /ust as dawn was breaking.
7* short distane &rom the house we met the )ndian who wanted to buy *braham,s hikens.
7Well! there you are! %ales! that,s the story! the true story.7 7*ntonio! you,d never have gotten
%on3alo to wake up that morning!7 ) said.
7),ve told you the true story! %ales. We an go and hek it with $am right now. He knows the
truth.7
7)t,s not neessary to hek it! *ntonio. (et,s leave it at that. ) believe you. ) know the truth when )
hear it.7
The musi in the band#shell started up.
) losed my eyes. ) wanted to shut out the harsh eletri lights. ) saw %on3alo lying on the &loor!
banished &rom the world o& the living and the hope&ul! his hand lasping to his breast a ball o& raw!
blood#blakened otton.
Cotton.
*ntonio evidently had been wathing me without my being aware o& it.
7Why are you weeping! %ales+7
7$hut up1 ;ou ... you must be seeing things. ;ou do get some ra3y ideas into your head.7
He was silent.
7This damned &uneral musi! *ntonio1 Why an,t they play EThe "erry Widow, or E;es! we have
no bananas,1 (i&e is &un1 Funeral marhes are &or orpses! omi opera &or the living. Come on!
*ntonio. )t,s nearly ten. What did that son#o&#a#bith say+ EBe to work on time!, he said! &or one
peso twenty#&ive the day17
Book Two
11
The owner o& the *urora Bakery! $e=or Aou4! always looked miserable! as i& he were su&&ering
&rom hroni malaria. He was o&&#olor and went about his business like someone mortally sik. But
in truth he was an ative! hearty man@ he ould at one sitting eat enough &or twelve strong men. He
got up at &our in the morning and break&asted on a ?uart o& milk and si4 &ried eggs with ham. Then
he had a good#si3ed glass o& brandy and went o&& to the market &or the day,s supplies. *part &rom
the bakery and pastry shop he had a &lourishing a&L! where! in addition to the usual ied drinks!
soda pop! ie reams! wine! and beer! you ould get break&ast! the omida lunh o& the day! and
supper. The bakery and a&L were on the ground &loor o& Aou4,s two#story building. *bove them
there was also a hotel! but it was not run by Aou4@ he sublet it! and every day he had some
stimulating onversation with his tenant. ;ou only had to overhear this onversation to understand
why Aou4 always looked so very yellowish green in the /owls.
The usual sub/et o& the argument was water. )n the tropis water is not only one o& the most
preious o& all things! it is also the ob/et o& ontinual stri&e. 5ature &ights &or water as a matter o&
li&e and death@ animals tear eah other to piees &or water! or so &orbear on its aount that the
/aguar will not harm the doe at the water,s edge but lies in wait at a respet&ul distane &or its return.
The struggle o& plants and trees &or water has a gentleness. But when human beings &ight over water
they outdo in unning savagery all other earthly reatures.
Aou4,s building was onstruted! in the (atin#*merian olonial style! around a ?uadrangle! in
whih lush tropial plants grew! some o& them to a height above that o& the upper &loor. The a&L
oupied the &ront portion o& the ground &loor@ the right wing ontained the kithen and storerooms@
the le&t housed the bakery and pastry shop! as well as the dormitory o& the bakery workers. The rear
setion was the proprietor,s residene.
The hotel setion! all o& the upper &loor! e4tended in a retangle over the ourtyard! with all rooms
opening onto a ontinuous balony looking into the greenery. The rooms on the street side o& the
hotel opened also onto a seond balony that ran along the whole &ront o& the building.
-n the roo& were two large water tanks! eah served by a separate well. -ne was &or the lower
&loor! the other &or the upper. 2ah had its own motor#driven pump. When the dry season ame! the
well &or the bakery and a&L ran dry! but the hotel well had ample water. The a&L and bakery
ouldn,t operate without water! and that was where the &un started. $e=or Aou4 wanted to pump the
water &rom the hotel tank into his tank! maintaining that! a&ter all! he was the owner o& both wells.
His tenant! however! didn,t onede this@ it was in his ontrat that the hotel tank was at his
e4lusive disposal. He was a&raid that i& he let the a&L take water &rom his tank! he might some day
&ind himsel& without water! and thus be obliged to deny his guests the privilege o& baths. * hotel#
keeper in the tropis who has to re&use baths might /ust as well lose up his hotel.
Both tanks were overed and padloked@ the tenant had a key &or his! and $e=or Aou4 had a key &or
the a&L tank. Aou4 there&ore had no alternative but to &ore the lok o& his tenant,s tank at night!
lower a hose into the tank! onnet the hose to his own pump! and start it running. The tenant was
usually awakened by the sound o& the pump! and so pandemonium broke out in the middle o& the
night. The hotel guests /oined in@ so did the a&L lients! who were o&ten &lushed with drink and
ready to pik a &ight and take sides. Bottles! hairs! loaves o& bread! hunks o& ie! and horrible
urses and maleditions ame &lying through the air. "eanwhile! the pump was neutral and
indi&&erent to the uproar as it went to work and &illed $e=or Aou4,s tank. *t that point! Aou4 shut
o&& the pump! retrated the hose! and peae reigned one more I until morning! when the tenant
would take measures to seure the hotel tank &or the night. These measures were always in some
way undone by $e=or Aou4.
-ne morning the hotel tenant sent &or a arpenter and instruted him to barriade the tank. 5ow
$e=or Aou4 ran to the polie! &or the building was his property and it was against the law &or the
tenant to build barriades on Aou4,s roo&. $o during the night the tank was &ored again! beause
$e=or Aou4,s establishment /ust had to have water.
There were! there&ore! good and su&&iient reasons &or $e=or Aou4,s ghastly appearane and
tremendous appetite. His &irst break&ast was &ollowed by a better one at si4! when he returned &rom
his marketing. 5ow he had &ish! roast bee&! a hal& bottle o& wine! and three or &our slies o& ake.
"eanwhile the &irst ustomers o& the day were oming in@ suppliers had to be bargained with and
their aounts settled@ the mail arrived. Then ame the buyers &or the baked goods! eah making up
his seletion o& bread! rolls! akes! pastries! bisuits! and andied &ruits.
*t hal& past eight $e=or Aou4 had what he alled a regular break&ast! at whih his wi&e /oined him.
This time there was an egg dish! two meat dishes! beer! and a large dessert! &ollowed by o&&ee! with
plenty o& ream o& ourse.
$e=ora Aou4 had the &eatures o& a pretty woman! but was more than plump. )n ontradition to the
idea that &at people are always /olly! $e=ora Aou4 was perpetually bad tempered. When
e4eptionally heavy orders &or akes and pastries ame in! a &aint smile appeared on her &ae! but it
lasted &or only a &ew seonds. The a&L might be &ull to the bursting point and ustomers &ighting
&or seats! but $e=ora Aou4 would wear her sour e4pression and look at every new arrival as i& he
had done her a personal in/ury that inreased the misery o& her li&e. $he never wore shoes! but
always so&t! &elt slippers. $he never went out ' that is! ) never saw her go out ' &or she was a&raid
that one o& the waiters might steal money or &ood in her absene. Her eyes went everywhere@
nothing happened in the plae that she didn,t know about! or over whih she had no ontrol.
The thing she regretted most 8atually she regretted everything9 was that people! or at any rate she
hersel&! had to sleep@ &or while she slept! something might happen that she ouldn,t know about. For
this reason she regarded no one with greater mistrust than the workers in the bakery. They worked
during the night hours when $e=ora Aou4 /ust had to get some sleep in order to be able to supervise
the a&L throughout the day and evening. 2ven so! she stayed up late into the night.
$e=ora Aou4 also took are o& the ash till. 2ven i& she ould have brought hersel& to hire a $e=orita
&or the /ob! no ashier would have worked with her &or long. The $e=orita might be as honest as the
arhangel with the sword! but $e=ora Aou4 still would have aused her several times a day o&
embe33ling a &ew pesos.
)t was a di&&iult business with the till. $e=ora Aou4 didn,t trust any waiter. $he sat at the ash
ounter or wandered around the plae observing what the guests were eating. When they paid! the
waiter had to hand over the money at one. The $e=ora reasoned that i& waiters were allowed to
poket the money they olleted! amounting at times to hundreds o& pesos! and to settle up at the
end o& the shi&t! there was nothing to prevent them &rom leaving hat and oat behind and walking
o&& with the ash a ?uarter o& an hour be&ore ?uitting time. )t must be admitted that suh things
happened! even when the waiter had olleted only si4ty or seventy pesos! but in the Ca&L *urora
suh a thing wasn,t possible.
-n days when bakery orders were slak! the bakers and on&etioners had a rough time. $e=ora
Aou4 would intentionally order them around in suh a way that one or another among them would
ask &or his money and leave! &or on slak days she regarded the bakery e4penses as so muh wasted
money. )& on the &ollowing day the orders doubled or trebled! the men had to work three! &our! or
&ive hours more! sine o& ourse no new worker had been hired to replae the one who had ?uit.
The musiians in the a&L &ared no better@ in &at! worse. The bakers at least produed something@
but in the minds o& the $e=or and $e=ora musi was the most absurd waste o& money imaginable.
However! the neighboring a&Ls had musi! so the Ca&L *urora had to have musi too! i& it was to
stay in business. $e=or Aou4 had a row with the orhestra every day. )& the plae was empty he told
the musiians it was their &ault beause they played so badly. $ometimes! a&ter suh a row! the
musiians paked up their instruments! asked &or their money! and le&t. $e=ora Aou4 was well
satis&ied with this state o& a&&airs as it enabled her to save money! and! besides! she ould e4plain to
the guests that the musiians had ?uit.
But a&ter a &ew days the ustomers would get restless and demand musi! so $e=or Aou4 would
have to run and look &or musiians. -n suh oasions it might happen that he ould get only one
guitarist! and the ustomers would stay away until a good orhestra was hired. *&ter a while there
would be another row and the whole story would be repeated.
-ne day an e4ellent eight#piee orhestra arrived &rom "e4io City and o&&ered its servies to the
various a&Ls! oming &irst to Aou4 in the *urora.
7Fi&ty pesos a day &or eight men+ ),m not going to pay that1 *nd their meals in the bargain+ ),m not
ra3y. *nd ontrated by the week! with three days, notie+ ;ou an go all around this town and
you won,t &ind any a&L owner ra3y enough to take you on those terms. ),ll pay you twenty#&ive! on
a daily basis. ) an get musiians enough when ) want them! on a day,s notie.7
$o the orhestra went to another a&L and got what they asked &or. *s a result! that a&L was &ull o&
ustomers every night! despite the &at that people in this region don,t sit around at a&L tables or
loa& in restaurants. Here! they usually stay /ust long enough to swallow their ie reams or sip their
re&reso drinks! and then they go. They pre&er to promenade in the parks and s?uares! or to sit there
on the benhes rather than at a&L tables. But the musi ould hold ustomers &or another ied drink
or an e4tra bottle o& beer! and that all the more readily sine the a&L owner was deent enough not
to put a surharge on the drinks beause o& the musial entertainment.
The a&L where the new orhestra played to suh rowds was only &ive doors away &rom the *urora!
and the *urora was as empty as a o&&in in a arpenter,s shop. The $e=ora wanted to turn o&& hal&
the lights beause they were burning unneessarily! but her husband wouldnMt hear o& it. 2very hour
he strolled over to the inema without hat or /aket! ostensibly to look at the posters o& the oming
attrations. *tually he went to ount the ustomers in the "oderna. He passed the ompeting a&L
seemingly without turning his head! but in &at he saw every guest in the "oderna! and to his
hagrin he saw many o& his &ormer lients.
For a &ew days he put up with it. Then he posted himsel& in &ront o& his a&L and waited &or the &irst
violinist o& the "oderna orhestra to ome along.
7-ne moment! $e=or17
7;es+7
7Wouldn,t you like to ome and play here+ ),ll pay you &i&ty.7
7),m sorry! we,re getting si4ty#&ive.7
7That ) won,t pay.7
7"uy bien! $e=or! adios.7
*&ter a week had passed! he asked the &irst violinist one more6 7*ll right! &or &i&ty! $e=or.7
7$ettled. *greed. From Friday! then.7
$e=or Aou4 rushed in to his wi&e. 7),ve got the orhestra. For &i&ty17
The orhestra had agreed to play &or &i&ty beause they had been given notie at the "oderna and
had no other engagement in town. They were no longer a novelty and the ustomers were ready &or
something di&&erent.
The ream had been skimmed o&&. The Ca&L *urora was &ull enough! but not as &ull as the "oderna
had been every night. $o $e=or Aou4 told the orhestra that they played abominably. The musiians
wouldn,t take this! it led to a row! and they le&t the a&L@ there&ore $e=or Aou4 didn,t have to pay
7notie7 wages! and so saved money one again.
*t about hal& past eleven every morning! $e=or Aou4 was &inished with his aount books and
ready to sit down to lunh. *t ten! unable to hold out until noon! he would eat a old hiken@ but
now he had his &irst proper meal o& the day.
Then he took a siesta. *t &ive he got up! washed and shaved! and! driven by hunger! hurried into the
a&L.
He stayed in the a&L until losing time. The loal polie weren,t onerned with the moral behavior
o& the townspeople@ they le&t that to the people themselves. *nyone who had the money and time to
hang about all night in a a&L was &ree to do so@ it was his money! his time! and his health. When the
plae was empty the landlord would lose up! i& he pleased! without the advie or penalties o& the
polie. *nd as there was no o&&iial losing time! no one got any satis&ation out o& de&ying
regulations@ thus at midnight the a&Ls were so empty that it hardly paid to keep the lights on. The
people who &or pro&essional reasons had to be up all night didn,t &re?uent the a&Ls! but were to be
&ound in the bars! whih served &ull meals or speialty dishes at all hours o& the day and night! and
were heaper than the a&Ls.
5o matter how ?uiet the a&L was! we in the bakery were having our busiest time at midnight.
7;ou an lean up the baking sheets!7 the master baker told me. 7;ou,ll be able to do that all right.
)& the old girl omes in!7 he said! re&erring to $e=ora Aou4! who was barely thirty! 7/ust keep on
leaning baking tins. $he has to poke her nose into everything! but i& you,re busy she won,t notie
that you don,t know the trade. $he won,t ome down here now! though! beause the old man,s up
there with her! and they don,t o&ten get around to wasting time on that1 )t beats me that they &ind any
time or thought &or it at all! but ) don,t suppose their minds are really on it while they,re at it.
They,re more likely to be thinking about us and wondering i& we,re beating up an egg or two &or
ourselves. %ood idea. We,ll do it now.7
He took some eggs! broke them in businesslike &ashion! gave them a ?uik whisk! added some
butter! and popped them into the oven! produing a baked omelet. *&ter we &inished it o&&! ) learned
how to lean the baking sheets. )t wasn,t as simple as it sounds! but something that had to be learned
properly. Then ) had to weigh o&& &lour! whih must be done e4atly. Then ) had to break &ive
hundred eggs and separate the yolks &rom the whites. )& you went about this in mother,s way! it
would take a week@ here! ) had to break and separate the &ive hundred eggs in about twenty minutes!
and i& the slightest trae o& yolk got into the whites there would be ulinary ompliations.
(ater ) learned to look a&ter the dough#mi4ing mahines! keep the oven &ires going! set the dough
&or bread and rolls! ie the small akes! ut the &lan puddings and prepare them &or deoration! wash
the pots and pans! wipe o&& the tables! sweep the bakehouse! rush the sugar &or the iing! prepare
the iing! and do many other things. ) learned them all bit by bit@ that way! one an learn anything.
There,s absolutely nothing that you an,t learn i& you go about it one step at a time.
$aturday arrived ' pay day. But there was no pay. 7"ariana! tomorrow!7 said $e=or Aou4. $unday
was the busiest day o& the week! but when it ame to paying wages! $e=or Aou4 e4plained that he
never paid wages on $unday. 7"ariana.7 But on "onday he didn,t pay beause he hadn,t been to the
bank.
-n Tuesday there wasn,t enough money in the till beause he had spent the money he,d brought
&rom the bank &or supplies. -n Wednesday! the waiters got paid &irst@ on Thursday he had no money
on hand and ouldn,t pay the bakers. -n Friday he ouldn,t be &ound@ whenever anyone went to look
&or him they were told he,d /ust gone to his &lat and didn,t want to be disturbed. By $aturday two
weeks, wages were due! but then his outgo was so heavy beause he had to buy supplies &or $unday!
7the busiest day!7 and besides this the banks losed at noon on $aturday. 7"ariana!7 he said@ but
tomorrow was $unday! and he never paid wages on $undays. 7"ariana!7 he reited@ but on "onday
he didn,t go to the bank. *nd so it went on.
) had been there three weeks when ) got my &irst pay@ and then ) was paid not &or three weeks but
&or one week. )t went on and on like this! with $e=or Aou4 always being weeks and weeks in
arrears with the wages. But we ouldn,t be &i&teen minutes behind in our work@ i& we were! there
was hell to pay! &or ustomers e4peted their bread and pastries on the dot! like lokwork. We had
to put in &i&teen! si4teen hours a day! and sometimes as many as twenty#one. $e=or Aou4 took this
&or granted@ he also took it &or granted that he paid wages when it suited him! and not when they &ell
due.
The master baker had &our months, wages owing him. He ouldn,t have le&t the plae even i& he,d
wanted to! &or Aou4 would have taken months to pay o&& the balane. *s &or the rest o& us! there
was no other work to be &ound! and even i& there had been! we had no time to go and look &or it. By
the time we,d &inished in the bakehouse it was usually late a&ter#. noon and o&ten evening! and
plaes o& work where we might have in?uired &or a /ob were already losed. We /ust had to stik it
out at the *urora. )& you want to live you have to eat! and i& you an,t &ind &ood any other way you
have to &all in line with the man who has the &ood.
The waiters were no better o&&. They reeived only twenty pesos a month and were e4peted to live
on their tips. But the people weren,t liberal with tips@ and when ustomers were &ew and &ar
between! the waiters had an even harder time. Then! too! they were blamed &or the shortage o&
ustomers and $e=ora Aou4 begrudged them even their twenty pesos in wages. The bakers lived in
the dormitory! but the waiters had &amilies and lived at home! so that they had household e4penses.
They weren,t even given &ood! but got a meal only oasionally as a &avor or speial privilege.
-ne o& the waiters got the &ever and was dead in three days@ he was a $paniard who had ome over
here only two years be&ore. * "e4ian alled "orales ame to take his plae! a ?uik! intelligent
&ellow. When ) had to take pastries into the a&L ) would notie that "orales was usually talking to
one or another o& his &ellow waiters. -& ourse they always talked among themselves when they
weren,t serving ustomers! but now ) saw a di&&erene. Be&ore! the waiters had talked together
super&iially! about the lotteries or about their side ativities or about girls or about their &amilies.
They had laughed and /oked as they gossiped.
But when "orales spoke with them it wasn,t a laughing matter! and they listened to him attentively.
"orales always did the talking and the others always listened. ) saw something ome to li&e6 the
0nion o& Destaurant 2mployees.
The "e4ian trade unions had no umbersome bureaurati mahinery. Their seretaries didn,t
onsider themselves to be 7o&&iials!7 but were atually young hotheaded revolutionaries. The
"e4ian unions had ome into being during the 191C#19NC Devolution! and had developed along
the most modern lines. They ould draw upon the e4perienes o& the 5orth#*merian trade unions
and o& the Dussian Devolution@ they had the e4plosive power o& a young $turm and Arang
movement! and the elastiity o& an organi3ation that is still &eeling its way and hanging its tatis
daily.
0p the street at the "oderna there was a waiters, strike.
Aou4! however! smiled to himsel&! having no &ear o& suh a thing happening in his plae. *nd now
all the "oderna,s ustomers were oming to Aou4,s Ca&L *urora beause they were ill at ease in the
strike#bound "oderna. They had good reason to be! &or the polie were neutral in the struggles o&
striking workers. )& a ustomer went into a strike#bound a&L and got hit on the head with a &lying
brik or a bottle! he would be helped to the Ded Cross station to get his wound dressed! but aside
&rom that the polie wouldn,t worry about him. *&ter all! the pikets in &ront o& the a&L had warned
him o& the strike@ he had read o& it in the newspapers and had had enough handbills thrust at him! so
that he might have known what to e4pet. There was no need &or him to go into this a&L@ he ould
have gone to another one! or taken a seat in the pla3a! or gone &or a promenade. *nyone who
deliberately enters a plae where stones are being thrown has only himsel& to blame i& he gets one
on the head.
*&ter &our days o& strike! the "oderna agreed to all the union,s demands.
12
-ne a&ternoon! about three weeks a&ter the "oderna strike was settled! when there were only a &ew
ustomers in the a&L! "orales went to Aou4 and said6 75ow listen! $e=or! an eight#hour day!
twelve pesos a week! one &ull meal a day! and o&&ee and rolls twie a day.7
For a moment Aou4 looked sared! but he ?uikly olleted himsel& and said6 7Come along to the
ashier,s ounter! "orales. There are your wages! you may go. ;ou,re dismissed! &ired17
"orales turned around! took o&& his white /aket! and piked up the money that Aou4 had set down
on the ounter. *ll the other waiters! who had been wathing! immediately took o&& their /akets and
went up to the ounter. Taken abak! Aou4 paid them their wages and let the men go@ he was ?uite
sure that he ould get other men right away.
)n his anger Aou4 had roughly pushed his wi&e,s nose out o& the till! almost knoking her o&& her tall
stool. With everything having happened so suddenly! $e=ora Aou4 had looked on speehless! &or
one.
7What happened+7 she now managed e4itedly to ask. 7Why did you pay them+7
7)magine asking me to double their wages and shorten their hours1 ) &ired them without even
listening to all the &urther demands they had in store &or us.7
*t this e4planation! $e=ora Aou4 almed down. 7That was the most sensible thing! heri! you have
ever done in your li&e. We have been overpaying them waste&ully anyway sine the day we were
&ools enough to get into business in this god&orsaken ountry where everybody seems to be going
ra3y with what they all their Devolution. The ones you &ired were Bolsheviks anyway. They were
thieves on top o& that! never turning in the e4at amount they reeived &rom the ustomers.7
75ow don,t you worry! herie. )n a &ew hours we,ll get more waiters than we need. They,re running
around &alling over their own &eet in their eagerness to land a /ob.7
$e=ora Aou4 &inished serving the &ew ustomers. When new ustomers arrived and saw that there
were no waiters they did not even sit down but le&t at one. * &ew &oreigners ame in! ordered
something! and thought the slow servie was a loal peuliarity.
The &ollowing day there were pikets outside the a&L and handbills were distributed with great
gusto. *ny person now wanting to enter had to on&ront the pikets! but everything was ?uite alm@
there was no sign o& violene. There were no polie around.
*side &rom a &ew o& Aou4,s regular ustomers! only &oreigners went in. They ouldn,t read the
handbills and hadn,t understood what the pikets had said to them. The pikets! o& ourse! didn,t
bother the &oreigners! who were mostly 5orth *merian! 2nglish! or Frenh and who! soon &eeling
the atmosphere to be depressing! ?uikly le&t the plae! some o& them without touhing the &ood or
drink they had ordered.
To $e=ora Aou4,s hagrin! waiters were not &alling over themselves to get a /ob. Finally! a&ter two
days! Aou4 &ound two! one an )talian! the other a ;ugoslav@ both were in rags! piti&ul speimens.
Aou4 gave them white /akets! shirt &ronts and ollars! and blak bow ties! but no pants or shoes!
and it was in the lower departments where the two &ellows looked the most deplorable. They
ouldn,t understand a word o& $panish and were ?uite useless as waiters@ but Aou4 wanted them
there only to spike the guns o& the pikets! so to speak.
)n the evening at about hal& past eight the )talian was standing at one o& the doors! all o& whih were
wide open so that you ould see &rom the outside everything that happened inside! as learly as i& it
were happening in the middle o& the street. That was the loal way! &or the ustomers liked to look
out and liked to be seen! /ust as the passers#by en/oyed looking in and seeing people having a
pleasant time in a a&L.
The )talian stood at the door and &lapped his napkin! proud o& being a waiter@ in normal
irumstanes he might perhaps have been a good dishwasher. The pikets took little notie o& him!
merely asting a glane in his diretion now and then.
Be&ore long! a young &ellow ame along with a heavy wooden stik in his hand. The proud new
waiter instintively took a step bakward@ but the young man mounted the doorstep and struk him
two sound blows on the head. Then he threw the stik down and asually walked away.
The waiter &ell headlong! bleeding pro&usely &rom the wound on his head. Aou4 rushed to the door
alling 7<olie1 <olie17 * polieman appeared! swinging his trunheon. The &ew ustomers in the
a&L ?uikly le&t the plae.
7They,ve killed him17 shouted Aou4.
7Who did+7 asked the polieman.
7) don,t know!7 answered Aou4! 7probably those waiters who are on strike.7
Two o& the pikets immediately sprang &orward and shouted6 7)& you say that again! you son#o&#a#
bith! well break every bone in your body.7
$e=or Aou4 ?uikly retreated into the a&L and said no more.
7Aid you see who struk this man here+7 a seond polieman who had ome up asked the pikets.
7;es! ) saw him!7 said one o& the pikets. 7* young &ellow ame up with a piee o& wood ' there!
it,s still lying there ' and /ust hit out at him.7
7Ao you know the &ellow+7
75o. He doesn,t belong to our union.7
7Then he had nothing to do with the strike. )t,s probably some other a&&air@ perhaps some skirts
involved.7
75o doubt it is!7 the piket agreed.
The two poliemen took the &allen waiter to the station! where he was bandaged up and kept
overnight &or his sa&ety.
7Hey! you in there! yes! you! you dirty sab!7 the pikets alled into the ;ugoslav! 7how long are
you going to stay in there+ ;ou,ll get one with an iron bar. We haven,t got any more wood to spare.7
*s all this was said in $panish! the ;ugoslav didn,t understand a word! but he sensed what was
being said to him and! turning pale! he retreated to the bak o& the room.
$e=or Aou4 had heard and o& ourse understood. He ran to the door and again alled &or the polie!
but none ame. * ?uarter o& an hour passed. Then he saw a polieman standing on the orner and
alled him over.
7The pikets have threatened to kill my waiter17
7Whih one threatened to kill him+7 asked the polieman. 7Him17 and Aou4 pointed to "orales!
who hadn,t made any threats! but who was most hated by Aou4! o& ourse.
7Aid you threaten to kill the waiter+7 asked the polieman.
75o! ) didn,t! and the thought would never our to me!7 said "orales. 7) wouldn,t even speak to the
dirty! stinking sab! dirty and stinking all over as hell.7
7) an ?uite believe it!7 said the polieman. 75ow! who did threaten to kill him+7
7) told him not to ome too lose to the door beause something might une4petedly drop on his
head &rom the roo& or the balony and hurt him!7 said one o& the pikets.
The polieman turned around to $e=or Aou4! who was standing in the doorway. 75ow! listen here!
$e=or! what do you mean by saying suh things+ They,re simply not true.7
7Well! they hal& killed the other waiter!7 Aou4 said de&ensively.
7;ou,d better make it up with your men!7 the polieman said. 7Then things like this won,t happen.7
7* &ine thing!7 bellowed Aou4! 7a man an,t even get proper protetion &rom the polie any longer.7
75ot so &ast!7 said the polieman. 7;ou,d better stop insulting the polie &ore! or ) might turn you
in.7
7),m a ta4payer and ),ve got a right to get polie protetion.7
7What have ta4es to do with it+7 the polieman interrupted. 7The waiters pay ta4es! too. $ettle your
a&&airs with your men and ?uit alling &or the polie.7
The ;ugoslav was standing hesitantly inside the a&L while this disussion was going on.
"eanwhile a rowd o& people had gathered! all o& whom seemed to side with the waiters. )t was
partly their show o& sympathy that had emboldened the polieman who was! a&ter all! a wage earner
himsel&. He ould never be sure! however! that Aou4 hadn,t a lose &riend among the polie
inspetors who might ause him o& negleting his duty.
*&ter the polieman le&t! the ;ugoslav took o&& his white /aket and went over to the ounter to get
his day,s pay. $e=or Aou4 asked him what it was all about! why he wanted to leave. The man
ouldn,t answer! but tried to e4plain with elo?uent gestures that his buddy had got one over the head
with a lub
and that he didn,t want the same to happen to him. -utside! the pikets and passers#by were
&ollowing the demonstration o& primeval sign language with evident en/oyment. Aou4 tried to make
the ;ugoslav understand that he would be absolutely sa&e i& he stayed in the a&L. But the poor man
wouldn,t aept Aou4,s assurane.
Had he been more &amiliar with the ountry,s ways he would have known that he was sa&e at no
time in any plae! that he ouldn,t stay within &our walls &orever! and that all would be up with him
the moment he walked out. For his &ae was already well known to every worker in town! and there
was no need &or a photograph or a poster. 2ven the &our walls o& the a&L were no shelter! &or some
day! the ne4t day or the day a&ter! somebody might walk into the a&L! give an order to him! and
when he brought it give him suh a blow on the head with a bottle that an ambulane would have to
ome and ollet him. *nd be&ore anyone in the a&L reali3ed what had happened! the avenger
would be several bloks away. 5o one! not even a star detetive! would &ind him.
That is why there were &ew sabs in the Depubli@ it was well known that e&&etive measures were
taken against them. War is war! and the workers were determined to wage war until they had won
not /ust one battle but the whole ampaign. $tates at war permit themselves the use o& any weapon!
so why shouldn,t the workers in their war+ Workers usually make the mistake o& wanting to be
regarded as respetable iti3ens! but no one thinks the better o& them &or it.
-& ourse! $e=or Aou4 heated the ;ugoslav out o& his sab,s pay! giving him only &i&ty entavos
and harging him &orty &or a broken tumbler. *&ter olleting his pay! he approahed the doorway
and looked out at the striking waiters. *s he stood there in his shirtsleeves! whih were little more
than &ilthy rags! the pikets saw the wrethed man &or what he really was. When he &inally took
ourage and ame out o& the a&L! one o& the pikets promptly took him in harge! aompanied him
to the union o&&ie! &ound him a plae to stay &or the night! and promised to get him a /ob in a tin
works.
$omething entirely di&&erent happened to the )talian. -n the &ollowing morning he was brought
be&ore the <olie $uperintendent! who! instead o& ommending him &or his loyal sabbing! asked to
see his immigration erti&iate.
7) haven,t got one!7 he answered through an interpreter. 7How did you get into this ountry+7
7-n a ship.7
7-h! so you deserted &rom a ship.7
75o! ) was paid o&&.7
7-h! yes! we know all about that sort o& paying o&&. $o we,re going to hand you over to your Consul
with the understanding that he send you bak to )taly on the ne4t ship. ;ou,re a troublemaker! and
we,ve no room &or suh as you here.7
* polie o&&ier took him to the Consul who! &rom that moment! would be responsible &or him and
maintain him until he ould be shipped bak to his ountry.
7What sort o& mishie& have you been up to! stealing+7 the Consul asked.
75o. ) was working as a waiter in the *urora until ) got one over the head.7
7But there,s a strike on at the *urora. Aidn,t you know that+7
7$ure. -therwise ) wouldn,t have gotten the /ob as a waiter. ),m a arpenter! really.7
7(ook here! my man! this Depubli has a workers, government. $abs are not popular here. $o you
see your ativities in this ountry have ome to an end. *nd don,t try to bolt out o& here! &or ),ll
ath you and have you arraigned. ;ou,re now under my authority@ ),ve put up bail &or you so that
you won,t have to wait in /ail until you an be shipped home. The /ails here are no /oke! you know.
They,re a serious business! and at least you,re saved &rom them. $o behave yoursel&.7
Two days later he was deported to the ountry o& his origin on the grounds that he had entered the
Depubli illegally.
*nd that was how the matter o& the sabs at the *urora was settled.
There were a &ew loyal ustomers who ontinued to ome to the a&L! and these were served by
Aou4 and his wi&e@ but that ouldn,t be alled business. There was not muh &or us to do in the
bakery either! apart &rom outside orders to be &illed.
-ne a&ternoon there were si4 or eight ustomers in the plae! inluding a polie inspetor alled
(amas. He patroni3ed the *urora regularly! a&ternoons and evenings! and ran up ?uite a bill! whih
he was always going to pay 7manana.7 *lthough he was married and had two hildren! he also had
two mistresses to support@ thus he was always in debt. 5ow he sat among the guests who were
having their ie reams and sipping their drinks@ at one table a game o& dominoes was in progress!
at another one o& ards.
)n some ountries pikets are respetable law#abiding iti3ens who believe in authority. They don,t
talk muh! and when a polieman says! 7$tand bak1 ;ou,re bloking tra&&i17 they move at one! as
i& the polie paid them and not the other way around.
)n "e4io! the workers were more or less undisiplined and the union seretaries were obliged to
go along with the ations o& the rank and &ile. The remarkable thing was that they won pratially
every strike.
7Hey! you!7 a piket alled out to one o& the ustomers! 7don,t eat that ie. )t,s only sugar and water!
there,s not a spoon&ul o& ream in it. The pig wants to make as muh out o& your portion as he
would i& there were no strike.7
But the ustomer! obviously a &riend o& Aou4,s! alled out6 7*re you paying &or this ie or am )+ '
you dirty lod17
7;ou,d better wath out! you &ilthy sab! that ) don,t get rid o& you!7 said the piket! amid loud
laughter &rom outside.
-ne o& the ustomers had a lady with him who was drinking &ruit /uie through a straw. 7)s she still
a virgin+7 another piket shouted in. 7Hurry up! &ellow! be&ore some other man gets in &irst.7
The lady went on sipping her drink as i& she had heard nothing! but her esort shouted bak6 7$hut
up! you son#o&#a#bith1 )t,s none o& your business.7
*t this point Aou4 went to the door and said6 7;ou,re not to annoy my guests. $hut up and leave my
guests alone17
7%uests+ They,re not guests. They,re a lot o& lousy pimps!7 shouted the pikets! /oined by a group o&
youths who were hanging about. 7<ay a deent wage and give proper &ood! or we,ll tear the hide o&&
you. *nd you,d better be ?uik about it! else we,ll make things hum &or you.7
)nspetor (amas then went to the door! &eeling that it was up to him to do something &or the redit
he en/oyed. The previous week he had ordered a twenty#&ive#peso ake with the name *dela
insribed on it in green iing. *dela was one o& his two mistresses! and the ake was &or her
birthday. (amas had ome right into the bakehouse and hadspeially re?uested that the ake be
deorated with rose garlands. He still owed &or the ake too.
He stood in the doorway and listened to the interhange. Then without a word he pulled out his
revolver and with the butt end struk the piket who was standing nearest suh a blow on the head
that the blood spurted out. Then he whistled. Two poliemen ame up and he ordered them to
ondut all the pikets and a &ew bystanders to the polie station.
Fust as they were marhed o&&! "orales returned to the sene. He had been relieved &or three hours
and was /ust oming bak to his post. When he heard what had happened! he shouted inside6 7;ou
son#o&#a#bith in there! now you,ll be in &or it. Fust you see1 We,ve only been playing so &ar! but we
an hange our tune.7 *nd away he went to the union o&&ie.
Within ten minutes the union $eretary arrived at the polie station and demanded to see )nspetor
(amas. 7) want a &ew words with him. He must be drunk17
The )nspetor was summoned. When he arrived the $eretary then asked &or the <olie
$uperintendent! who ame at one. He was ?uite disturbed when he saw the union $eretary! and he
got right down to business.
7Why did you strike the piket+7 the $uperintendent asked )nspetor (amas.
7He was insulting people in the a&L.7
The $uperintendent looked at him! enraged. 7What authority have you to strike a man who does
nothing more than insult someone+7
(amas was about to reply but the $uperintendent ut him short. 7Aon,t you know your regulations+7
He turned to the lerk. 7Deord this6 E(amas doesn,t know his regulations,17
Then he &aed (amas. 7This isn,t the right plae &or you! so ),ll see about getting you trans&erred to a
village where you an,t make trouble. *nd i& anything o& the kind ours again! the <olie
Aepartment will have to dispense with your servies. That won,t be di&&iult. 5ow! why did you
arrest these men+7
7They insulted all the guests and $e=or Aou4!7 (amas said di&&idently.
7)nsulted+ )nsulted+ What do you mean! insulted+7
7They alled them sons#o&#bithes.7
7)& you,re going to arrest everyone who says son#o& #a#bith! you,ll have to build a prison wall
around the entire nation1 ;ou must be ra3y.7
7They threatened persons as well.7
7Threatened+ What do you mean by that+7
7They said they were going to kill $e=or Aou4.7
7We said nothing o& the kind17 the pikets alled out.
The $uperintendent looked sorn&ully at (amas. 7Hasn,t anyone ever told you that he wanted to kill
you+ ;our wi&e+ ;our &riends+ *?uaintanes+ *nd did you strike them on the head with your
revolver butt+7
7Well! in this ase it appeared to be very serious.7
7$erious+ For whom+ Has one man o& those you arrested struk anybody! or robbed or wreked
$e=or Aou4,s a&L+ -bviously not! or you would have told me right o&&. ;es! the polie are here to
protet the property and person o& $e=or Aou4! but that isn,t to say that we,re here to bak him up in
paying wages on whih no deent man an live! or to help him keep his men at work &or suh long
hours that they haven,t time even to take a promenade with their &amilies. )& the men put up with it!
that,s no a&&air o& ours@ but i& they deide that they an,t stand it any longer! then it,s ertainly no
part o& our duty to arrest them &or that. Why an,t $e=or Aou4 ome to terms with his men+ )& he
did! he,d be le&t in peae. *s it is! this disorder an,t be allowed to ontinue! &or it might lead to a
serious breah o& the peae. $o ),m going to order the Ca&L *urora losed &or two months@ then we,ll
have some peae.7
He turned to the lerk. 7Araw up the losing order &or two months! and ),ll sign it now. *nd you!
$e=or (amas! may onsider yoursel& relieved o& your o&&ie until ) have the %overnor,s instrutions
&or your station o& trans&er. The prisoners are released. *re there any other omplaints+7
75o!7 answered the pikets.
The $uperintendent got up and shook hands with the union $eretary! who was about to leave.
7The polie o& this distrit are no longer onerned with this a&&air!7 said the $uperintendent.
7Further developments are up to you. )t was a good thing that ) was alled in so ?uikly! &or there
are always o&&iers who are bakward about these things.7
7Bakward! or don,t want to keep up with the times beause they have so many private obligations!7
the $eretary added.
7(amas will get a distrit where he won,t have e4penses o& that kind. ),ve already got a plae in
mind &or him! a sort o& bandit distrit. )& he,s got anything in him! he an show it there@ and i& he
hasn,t! we,ll &ire him. He,s &rom the old shool that thinks ditatorship is the best &orm o&
government. We,ll soon have all the old ones out o& our departments! and in the meantime! it,s not a
bad thing i& the last o& them give themselves away by slipping into their old habits.7
7)n other ountries!7 e4laimed the $eretary! 7&or e4ample in the 0nited $tates! some o& those
reationary old habits are ultramodern institutions.7
7) know!7 answered the $uperintendent. 7We opy our neighbors in many things! but we mustn,t
opy them in everything! and we must be partiularly are&ul not to opy those things that are out o&
keeping with the spirit o& our times. The rough tatis are outdated and un/ust. When it omes to
asses o& the two#legged speies! the $tates have more than we have.7
13
Two polie o&&iials in green#braided uni&orms alled on $e=or Aou4 and handed him the losing
order. )t ame as a terrible shok to him! and he shouted to his wi&e6 75ow! you see! we,ve got a
proper Bolshevik government. They,ve played a nie trik on me.7
7What,s the matter+7 she alled as she ame waddling up to him.
7They,ve losed us down.7
7) always told you we shouldn,t have ome here. This ountry is stark! raving mad. There,s no law
and order here. ;ou an go on paying your ta4es! and paying them on the dot! but you never get a
say in anything.7
7;ou must lose at one!7 said the o&&iial who had handed Aou4 the order! 7or there will be a &ine
o& over a hundred pesos.7
7But surely my guests may &inish their drinks+7
The o&&iial onsulted his wath and said6 7Hal& an hour! and then you must lose. *n o&&ier will
be posted here to see that no more ustomers are admitted. *nd you must pay the o&&ier.7
7) pay him+7
7;ou don,t imagine that we,ll pay him! do you+ We have no &unds available /ust to ensure that you
obey the order.7
The two o&&iials went out! posted themselves at the entrane! and waited &or the hal& hour o& grae.
When it was up! they shouted inside. Aou4! &urious with rage! shut the doors. -nly the orridor
entrane to the hotel remained open! &or the hotel hadn,t disturbed the peae.
<eae! however! didn,t desend upon the a&L. -n the ontrary. Things beame even livelier! &or the
Aou4s themselves ame to blows.
The $e=ora was onsumed with &ury@ every entavo lost to the business ate into her heart. $he
waddled about in her slippers among the empty tables and made her husband,s li&e a hell. $he wore
only a sleeveless negligee gathered loosely about her! the &at! &labby &lesh o& her bosom e4posed!
and bright yellow silk stokings over her bulging alves. -nly her youth kept these over&lowing
masses looking somewhat more sedutive than repulsive. *nother &ive years and the sedutiveness
would ertainly have vanished! leaving repulsiveness triumphant. The whole length o& her arms
protruded &rom the negligee! arms whih might have passed &or a wrestler,s e4ept that they were as
&labby as the rest o& her body. *t the bak o& her nek there was a bulge o& &lesh that! &or the
present! protruded only shyly@ but in a &ew years, time it would be a real landmark.
$he always wandered about the plae like this. *nywhere else she would have been taken &or a
brothel madame with whom it did not do to tri&le. -asionally she hanged her negligee@ she had a
gray one! a pink one! a green one! a deep#yellow one! and a pale#mauve one. Whether or not she had
other lothes ) don,t know! &or ) never saw her in anything else.
$e=or Aou4 was always to be seen in shirt and trousers! and only when he went to the market did he
put on a hat. He wore blak trousers only! seured with a narrow leather belt! and a white shirt with
a blak bow tie. His belly stuk out in &ront o& him like a balloon. The $e=ora too had a protruding
paunh! but it was hidden in part by the loose negligee. *las! what she had too muh o& in &ront she
laked behind. That isn,t to say that there wasn,t plenty behind! but the proportions in relation to her
stomah were not generous enough to give her whole &igure a harmony. *ll in all Aou4 ould
hardly omplain! &or he had in her something solid to hold on to! and was in no danger o& ha&ing
himsel& on protruding bones.
7;ou must have been o&& your head ever to have ome to this ra3y ountry!7 she was yelling at
him.
7"e+ Wasn,t it you who kept telling me every day that millions were lying on the streets waiting to
be shoveled up+7
7;ou dirty liar! you17 she howled. 7;ou &ilthy "arseilles pimp1 Aidn,t you draw out all my money
and tell me that it,d earn a thousand perent in two years+7
7Well! wasn,t ) right+ We ame here with nothing ' or how muh was it+ 2ight hundred pesos+
*nd ),ve already been o&&ered si4ty#eight thousand &or the house and a&L. *nd why don,t ) sell+
Beause ) know it,s worth muh more.7
7Worth more+7 she bla3ed. 7Why! it,s not worth a hand&ul o& horse shit1 How an it be worth
anything when it,s losed+ 5o one would give you the prie o& the briks in it. *nd ) told you that
when the new government ame in! that ' what,s#hisname+ ' that pig! one#armed general! that
-bregon ' yes! that,s his name1 He &inished us o&& &or good.7
7How ould ) know this Devolution would hange everything! even the value o& the money! labor
onditions! laws that a&&et property and all and everything that goes with it+ But it,s only sine the
new government that we,ve really begun to get anywhere. ;ou wouldn,t say that it was be&ore then!
eh+ ' when we had to grease everybody,s palm with one hundred pesos! one a&ter the other! &or
permission to breathe! even. 2verybody was holding out a hand then.7
7*nd now!7 she &ired bak at him! 7is it any di&&erent+ 5ow it,s the working people who are holding
out their hands. First in the kithen! then the waiters! and you,ll see! ne4t will be the bakehouse. *nd
when that omes! we might as well pak up and go home like beggars.7
7$hut up! on&ound you17 he shrieked in &ull &ury. 7;ou spoil everything with your greed and your
damned miserliness.7
7"e! miserly+ "iserly+ )& ) didn,t keep a hold on the money it would all go on you and your
whores. *nd you all me miserly+7
5ow we were hearing some &ine &amily serets. ) ould hardly believe the $e=ora was right@ how
ould he have possibly &ound time &or esapades+ But o& ourse their little dispute was really a
on/ugal dialogue! &or they atually lived together in omplete harmony whih was disturbed only
by the &at that the workers were waking up and taking an interest in their masters, pro&its. $imilar
displays o& interest have been known to shake kings and to rok empires. $o it wasn,t surprising that
the striking waiters gave the Aou4s, domesti bliss a bit o& a shaking.
The on/ugal dialogues beame not only more violent during the &ollowing days but also more
&re?uent. They &illed the days! and e4tended through the nights as the Aou4s lay side by side in bed.
We who were working there overheard the omplete li&e history o& eah o& them! &rom the day they
were born to the moment when they ame to blows with table lamp! wash basin! and hamber pot.
When they reahed the stage where she was going around with the idea o& putting rat poison into his
o&&ee! and he was dreaming nightly o& the ra3or with whih he was going to slit her throat! he
proved the superiority o& man.
He went to the $uperintendent o& <olie and asked what ould be done to get the two months,
losing order revoked and the waiters bak into his a&L. The $uperintendent told him that he
himsel& ould do nothing in this ase. )t was a matter o& oming to terms with the union@ the a&L
ouldn,t be operated until the dispute between the two was settled.
7Then ),m bankrupt!7 said Aou4. 7*nd the waiters will be thrown out o& work.7
7Aon,t worry about them! se=or!7 the $uperintendent replied. 7*s long as people want to sit in a
a&L and spoon up strawberry ie! they,ll want waiters to serve them. ;ou an see that &rom the
"oderna! whih is always &ull now. *ll your old ustomers go there! o& ourse. But ) an,t do
anything about it. ;our premises are losed! and they,ll stay losed &or the two#month period. "y
advie is! go to the union and arrange things with them.7
-n the a&ternoon o& the same day Aou4 met "orales! whom he approahed with all humility.
7(isten! "orales!7 he said! 7),ll agree to everything. Could you see to it that the waiters return to my
plae+7
"orales eyed him oolly &rom head to &oot and said6 7Ao ) know you+ -h! yes! you,re Aou4 o& (a
*urora. But we waiters have nothing to do with you@ we walked out remember+ )& you want
anything with us! you must go to the union. *dios.7
Aou4 wrote a letter to the union saying that he would like an interview with the $eretary@ he
ventured to ask the $eretary to all on him to disuss the situation o& the waiters, strike.
-n the &ollowing day he reeived his reply. )t was /ust one sharp sentene6 7)& you want anything
&rom the union! the address o& the o&&ie is6 Calle "adero 5o. 1O! $eond Floor. The $eretary
hadn,t even onsidered it neessary to sign his name.
For $e=or Aou4 there was no alternative but to go! &or the ra3or was haunting him day and night! so
that even when he was eating he had the &eeling that his table kni&e was a ra3or.
7Take a seat in the waiting room!7 said a worker in the union o&&ie. 7There,s a on&erene on! but it
won,t last long.7
)t lasted over hal& an hour! and while he was waiting Aou4 had time to digest the slogans displayed
on the walls. Those slogans made him angry at &irst. But the longer he studied them! the more he
ame to &ear what lay in store &or him behind the $eretary,s door! through whih he ould hear the
tapping o& a typewriter.
*t last a worker appeared. 7The $eretary will see you now! $e=or!7 he said.
Aou4 swallowed nervously as he stepped into the small room that was the $eretary,s o&&ie. He had
intended to look the $eretary straight in the eye! but he &ound that he ouldn,t@ again! his ga3e was
drawn to the walls! &or behind the $eretary,s desk the entire wall was overed with a red and blak
&lag! while above the &lag in bold letters sreamed the slogan6 PROLETARIOS DEL MUNDO,
UNIOS!
This put Aou4 ?uite o&& his stride. His voie! whih he had wanted to sound &irm and resolute!
&altered timidly as he said6 7%ood day. ) am $e=or Aou4 o& the Ca&L *urora.7
7Dight!7 said the $eretary. 7$it down. *nd what do you want+7
7),d like to know i& you an arrange &or my a&L to be reopened.7
7;es! that an be arranged!7 the $eretary replied! 7provided you &ul&ill ertain onditions.7
7-h! ),m ready to agree to everything that the waiters are demanding.7
The $eretary took up a sheet o& paper! glaned at it! and said6 7The waiters, demands are no longer
the same as those put &orward when they &irst spoke with you.7
75ot the same+7 gulped Aou4! &rightened.
75o! it,s &i&teen pesos a week now!7 said the $eretary in the manner o& a businessman.
7But they were asking twelve.7
7That may be. But then they went on strike. ;ou don,t suppose the men are going to strike &or
nothing! do you+ 5ow it,s &i&teen. )& you,d agreed at one it,d have been twelve.7
7*ll right!7 said Aou4! straightening up! 7) agree to &i&teen.7
7Friday is pay day! &or the whole week. )rregular or postponed pay days an no longer be
permitted!7 ontinued the $eretary.
7But ) an,t pay /ust like that. )t has been our pratie to pay when we had available ash.7
The $eretary looked up. 7What always has been your pratie is neither here nor there. We are
deiding what you must do &rom now on. We are at last putting a stop to abuses that have gone on
here &or hundreds o& years. There is the work! here are the wages. *nd you must pay the wages /ust
as puntually as you e4pet the men to do their work.7
7But that,s going to be di&&iult!7 said Aou4! de&ensively! 7beause i& ) pay out the wages like that )
might &ind mysel& without su&&iient ash to do the buying on $aturday.7
7That,s nothing to do with us. Wages must ome &irst! or the workers will &ind themselves without
su&&iient ash to do their buying. *nd! in our view! it,s better &or you to be short o& ash than the
workers.7
Aou4 was breathing heavily. 7But the work week doesn,t end until $aturday. Why should ) pay the
wages on Friday+7
7Why+ Why+ ;ou mean you don,t understand+7 The $eretary a&&eted surprise. 7The worker gives
you &ive days, redit. He gives you his output &or &ive whole days while you do business with the
apital o& his labor. Why should the worker be alled upon to lend you his &ive days, output+
*tually! you should pay &or the whole week in advane! on
"onday morning@ that would be the proper thing to do. But we don,t want to go that &ar.7
7*ll right! then! ),ll agree to that! too. *nd to one &ull meal and rolls and o&&ee at another hour. $o
then! everything,s in order+7 Aou4 got up.
7$it down &or a moment!7 invited the $eretary. 7There are still one or two minor points to settle.
;ou must pay &or the strike days.7
7"e+ <ay &or the strike days+ *m ) to pay &or idleness too+7
7$triking is not idling!7 said the $eretary &irmly! 7and i& your men go on strike! you must pay their
&ull wages. -therwise! all you hotel and a&L proprietors ould &ore us into a long strike and so
whittle away our &unds that we ould never strike again. -h! no! $e=or! we,re not having anything
like that. The strike is &inaned by us. We at as a kind o& loan o&&ie &or the workers! but you are
the one who must pay &or the strike. ;ou had ample time to make up your mind whether or not to
let it ome to a strike. The ost o& war must be borne by the party who needs peae in order to get
on with his business.7
7This is the greatest in/ustie ),ve ever met!7 e4laimed Aou4.
7Well! i& you like! ),ll enumerate the in/usties that you and your kind have been perpetrating &or
years.7
7-bviously! ) have no alternative but to pay &or it all!7 Aou4 admitted! de/etedly.
7*nd pre&erably today!7 delared the $eretary! 7&or tomorrow it will ost you another day.7
7Then ),ll ome bak here be&ore &ive o,lok and settle the whole business!7 said Aou4! and he got
up &or the seond time.
7Bring a little e4tra with you!7 the $eretary advised as he also got to his &eet.
7$till more+7 e4laimed Aou4.
7;es! ) thought you wanted the a&L reopened now! not in two months, time.7
7)sn,t that part o& the bargain! i& ) agree to everything+7 Aou4 was getting /umpy.
7By no means!7 answered the $eretary. 7The losing o& the a&L was &or reasons apart &rom the
waiters, strike. ;ou know that as well as ) do. ;ou asked )nspetor (amas to give the pikets a
beating.7
7) ertainly did not17 insisted Aou4.
7-bviously we don,t agree on that. )n any ase! it happened on your premises and so you must be
held responsible &or it. ;ou might easily have prevented it.7
7Come on! then! tell me what else ),ve got to do!7 urged Aou4.
7;ou must pay ten thousand pesos into the &unds o& our union as ompensation. *s soon as you,ve
paid it! we shall take over the guarantee to the %overnor on your behal&. *nd then the a&L an be
reopened.7
7*m ) e4peted to pay ten thousand pesos+7 Aou4 dropped into the hair again! breaking out in a
old sweat.
7;ou need not pay it@ we,re not &oring you. But then the a&L will stay losed &or two months!7 the
$eretary ontinued matter#o&#&atly. 7*nd o& ourse at the end o& the two months you would have
to pay the waiters retroatively. They must live. *nd we an,t allow them to take on any other work!
sine they must be ready to go to work &or you as soon as you reopen your a&L. )t would be too bad
i& you had no waiters on your reopening day.
7To make the situation lear to you! one and &or all6 )t isn,t our intention to destroy business or
even inter&ere with it! ertainly not. )t is! however! our intention and purpose to see to it that the
worker gets not only a &air share o& what he produes! but the share whih is due him up to the
ma4imum that the business an a&&ord. *nd this ma4imum is muh higher than you imagine. *t
present we,re onduting a thorough in?uiry into the apaity o& every branh o& industry! and those
branhes whih an,t bring a deent living wage to the worker must go to the wall. *nd we,ll see to
it that they do. )& suh industries are important to the ommunity! then we,ll see to it that the
ommunity guarantees the worker a deent living standard. For e4ample! ) wouldn,t swear to it that
your a&L is indispensable to the ommunity@ but it,s there. *nd as long as you operate it to inrease
your own &ortune! it must bring in enough to pay deent wages to the workers there. )& the time
omes when you an,t make a pro&it &rom it! you,ll lose it down o& your own aord.
7Well! $e=or Aou4! ),ve told you all this so that you won,t think we,re /ust a bunh o& blakmailers.
5o! all we want is that the men who are making a &ortune &or you reeive the share to whih they,re
entitled@ and there,ll still be enough le&t over &or you.7
Aou4 had only hal& understood what the $eretary was saying. He sat there! da3ed. His head swam
with the thought o& laying out ten thousand pesos. He didn,t dare say yes &or &ear o& his $e=ora! &or
he didn,t know what she,d pre&er to do. 2very day,s delay ost money. ;et! it would ost him more
than the ten thousand pesos i& the business had to remain losed &or two months! with bak pay on
top o& that. He kept /uggling the &igures in his head until he thought he,d go mad.
*t last he got up. 7),ll think it over!7 he said.
He le&t the o&&ie! went down the stairs! and stepped out into the street. He wiped the sweat &rom his
&ae and gasped &or air. Then he started walking home. The walk ooled him down! so that he
almly began to onsider the matter. He sat on a park benh to make various alulations on a piee
o& paper and eventually reahed the onlusion that it would be heaper to pay up everything at
one. But what about $e=ora Aou4+ )& he went home &irst! there would be a srap. )& he said yes
outright! she,d say! 7Why don,t you say no+7 *nd i& he said no! she,d say! 7Why don,t you say yes+7
Whatever he did would be wrong! &or it would ost money! and a great deal o& money@ and anything
that ost money and didn,t bring in double always aused a row with the $e=ora. *t last! however!
Aou4 was sei3ed by a proud and manly ourage whih urged him! &or one! to en&ore his own
independent will without onsulting his wi&e. *nd he thought that he ould best do this by
shouldering the deision that was most likely to throw her into a rage6 to go to the bank! draw out
all the neessary money! and! without a word to his wi&e! go to the union o&&ie and settle
everything without &urther ado.
Hal& an hour later he had paid up every peso that was demanded.
7;ou may reopen your a&L at seven this evening!7 said the $eretary. 7),ll see to it that the
revoation order is in your hands by that time.7
Aou4 &olded the reeipts! eah one duly a&&i4ed with the legal stamps. 7$e=or $eretary! there,s one
small point ),d like to make.7
7Well+7
7"ust ) really pay the wages &or the whole week on Fridays+7
7;ou had better! $e=or Aou4.7
7What happens then i& a man is paid on Friday and doesn,t show up on $aturday+ He,d have rooked
me out o& a whole day,s pay.7
7"y! my!7 said the $eretary! smiling! 7but you,re good at &igures. ),d never have e4peted it o& you.
;ou,ve held bak the men,s wages &or as muh as si4 weeks! not one day! remember! but si4
weeks.7
7But the men always got their wages in the long run. They knew they were sa&e! anyhow!7 and
Aou4 pu&&ed out his hest.
7Whether you,re as solid as all that is still very muh open to ?uestion. ;ou ould sell out seretly
and make o&& with the wages due@ some employers have done that. But that probably wouldn,t
happen in your ase. What has happened is that you,ve always held onto the wages &or a &ew weeks
and made use o& money that belonged to the waiters without paying them any interest. Why should
the workers be e4peted to lend you their wages &ree o& harge+ This must stop. ;ou an ount
yoursel& very luky that we haven,t re?uired the whole week,s wages to be paid on Wednesdays! so
that the risk would be e?ually divided. We,ll leave it at Friday. )& you treat the men deently! none
o& them will run o&& with that one day,s pay. But i& a worker should do it one in a while it won,t
ruin you. Well! that answers your ?uestion. ;ou,d better run along now! so that you an be ready &or
your ustomers at seven o,lok.7
Aou4 le&t the o&&ie and made his way home.
14
7That,s ?uite sensible! what you,ve done!7 said $e=ora Aou4! to Aou4,s omplete surprise. 7But i&
things had been done my way in the &irst plae! we ould have saved ourselves all this trouble.7
7;our way+7 asked $e=or Aou4. 72verything was always done your way. )t was you who were
always telling me to &ire the waiters! that waiters were two &or a penny! anyway.7
7Well! that was true! wasn,t it+ They were &alling over themselves to get work! then. ) never thought
there,d ome a day when all we ould get would be two tramps. That was where my alulations
went wrong. Aon,t worry! we,ll soon reover the money. The bakery and pastry shop will have to
make up &or it. They,re a better lot o& workers than the waiters@ at least they,re not bolshies.7
$o there it was. We in the bakery and pastry shop had to make good the loss. 5ow Aou4 invested in
publiity. *ds in newspapers and movie houses delared the e4ellene o& his bread! his akes! and
his pastries.
The result o& this was that we now had to start work at ten every night! $aturdays at nine! and work
through until &our! sometimes &ive o,lok the ne4t a&ternoon. That beame a new rule. )& anyone
didn,t like it! he le&t@ and Aou4 would then delare that no one had applied &or the /ob! and that the
rest o& us would have to take over the man,s work &or the time being. $ometimes it happened that
two men ?uit on the same day! and then there was the work o& two men to make up &or.
Aou4 would put o&& replaing the missing workers as long as possible so as to save the wages. We
knew this beause we sent men to him and he told them there was no vaany. This went on until
we simply le&t orders un&illed. When it was a ase o& an order &or a birthday ake or some other
&ood &or a speial oasion! it went badly &or $e=ora Aou4. -& ourse the $e=or would make
himsel& sare and she would have to &ight it out with the ustomer. *t last this got to be too muh
&or her! so she hersel& would hire one or two new men! always the heapest she ould get! men who
knew nothing about the trade and hadn,t the intelligene to pik it up ?uikly.
The master baker had daily arguments with Aou4 over supplies. -ne day the sugar supply was very
low. The master went to Aou4 and told him that we needed two hundred kilos o& sugar.
7*ll right! all right!7 said Aou4! 7),ll order some right away.7
But he put o&& ordering it! /ust to keep the money in his poket a &ew days longer. The moment
ame when we had no sugar at all! and we were having rows with the waiters who ame into the
bakehouse to take the last srapings &rom the barrel &or the a&L! where every sugar bowl was
empty. Then Aou4 rushed o&& in a &ren3y to get the sugar in as ?uikly as he ould! while we in the
bakehouse had to stand about and wait! as we ouldn,t bake without sugar@ worse! we ouldn,t lean
up and go to bed! &or the baked goods had to be &inished.
)t was the same with the eggs. Five hundred ases were ordered one week! and they were delivered.
Then! when we were working on the last &i&ty ases! the master told Aou4 that it was time to order
more eggs.
7Can,t it wait until tomorrow+7 asked Aou4.
7;es! it an wait until tomorrow! but not a moment longer.7 7That,s all right! then!7 said Aou4!
mightily pleased that he ould put it o&& &or one day.
5e4t morning the master had to run to him again. 7)t,s getting urgent. By day a&ter tomorrow we,ll
be all out o& eggs.7
This time Aou4 didn,t ask i& it ould wait until the ne4t day@ but he put it o&&! on his own
responsibility. *nd so the moment ame when we were all standing about! /ust waiting &or eggs.
*nd it was the same story with the ie. The ie ream had to be ready by two o,lok. We might
have the mi4ture ready in good time! but the ie wouldn,t be on hand beause Aou4 had ordered it
too late. )t would arrive at three or &our! when it should have arrived at one o,lok! and so we
would have to stand around two or three hours! unable to knok o&& work until the ie ream was
ready &or the a&L.
That was how we wasted our time! not working time! but our own &ree time! /ust beause Aou4
wanted to hang on to his money &or a &ew more hours@ and beause our time was bought by him not
by the hour but by the day. 2ah minute o& our lives belonged to him@ he bought it and paid &or it!
by way o& our meager wages.
)& we didn,t like it! well! it was true that we ould leave. We ould go and starve! &or /obs were &ew
and &ar between@ and any available work was snapped up by loal men who did it &or a wage on
whih it was impossible to live ' even i& you did see them and their &amilies living on it.
There wasn,t any hoie. ;ou either had to starve or do as the boss wanted. He ouldn,t do as he
liked with the waiters anymore! so we had to ope with everything that he ouldn,t push onto them.
We were the rabble. )& we ?uit! there were twenty more waiting outside only too pleased to get into
a bakery where there was not only plenty o& bread and ake to eat! but where there were even
regular meals! the like o& whih these hungry men had never seen on their own tables.
The waiters were intelligent &ellows! "e4ians and $pan#. lards! alert and ative. But we in the
bakery were gathered in &rom the road and the bush! without &amily or &i4ed abode. $ome ouldn,t
even speak $panish. -ur working onditions and wages didn,t o&&er the slightest induement to
workers with any pride. We had a ertain individualisti ommon pride! but you an,t re&orm the
living onditions o& the worker with that@ &or the employer has pride enough o& that kind himsel&
and he knows how to use it to his own advantage. That battle&ield is his@ he knows every trik and
an parry every thrust with suess. We itinerant workers were simply attempting to save a little
money and start a small business! or srape together the &are &or a try somewhere else ' Colombia
or wherever. We were trying to get as muh &rom the &urrow we were plowing as we possibly ould.
Whether those who ame a&ter us &ell by the wayside was a matter o& indi&&erene to us. 2veryone is
his own best &riend. )& the grass gets sare while ),m gra3ing ),ll pull up the roots as well.
Aou4 and the other businessmen in town knew how to keep us too busy at work to learn to think &or
ourselves. )t was a new ountry! as &ar as business ventures went. 2verybody had but one thought
and that was to get rih! and to get rih ?uik! without regard to what happened to the other &ellow.
That was the way o& the oil people! the mining people! the merhants! hotel proprietors! plantation
owners ' in &at o& anyone who had a &ew pesos. They must all e4ploit something or someone. )&
they ouldn,t e4ploit an oil &ield or a silver mine! or ustomers or hotel guests! they would e4ploit
the hunger o& the down#and#outers. 2veryone must bring in money! and everything did bring in
money. There was gold in the veins and musles o& the hungry workers as surely as there was gold
in the gold mines. To e4ploit a gold mine a great deal o& apital was needed and risked. To e4ploit
an oil &ield might mean drilling ten times to a depth o& two thousand &ive hundred &eet! at great
e4pense! to get nothing but dry holes in the end. But as long as any worker ould move his limbs he
was no dry hole@ he was more onveniently e4ploited than any gold mine or oil &ield.
Take *p&el! a Hungarian. He arrived in "e4io with a &ew hundred pesos in his poket but ouldn,t
&ind work. $o he rented a small shak and bought tools &rom one /unk dealer and some old sheet
iron &rom another@ out o& this /unk he made bukets and water tanks.
-ne day a man ame and said6 7Could you make me a tank+7
7$ure! i& you give me an advane o& one hundred pesos!7 said *p&el.
But he ouldn,t make this tank single#handed.
)n a Chinese eating /oint he ran into a ompatriot &rom Budapest! begging and in rags. The man had
ome into the /oint! gone up to *p&el,s table! and asked in broken $panish i& he might have the hal&
o& a roll whih was lying there unwanted.
7Take it!7 said *p&el. 7*ren,t you Hungarian+7
7;es! ),m &rom Budapest.7
$o they onversed in Hungarian.
7*re you looking &or work+7 *p&el asked.
7;es! ),ve been looking &or work &or a long while! but there,s nothing.7
75o! there,s not muh o& anything!7 *p&el agreed! 7but ) an get you work.7
7Deally+ ),d be so grate&ul i& you ould.7
7But it means a &ourteen#hour streth.7
7That,s all right! as long as it,s work and pays money &or &ood.7
7The pay,s not so good either. -nly about two pesos and &i&ty entavos.7
7),d be satis&ied with that.7
7Then ome tomorrow morning!7 said *p&el! and he e4plained how to &ind his work shak. 7) work
there! too@ ),ve got a small ontrat.7
7),m glad to be working with a &ellow ountryman.7
7;ou may well be!7 said *p&el! 7&or who else would take you on+ There,s absolutely no work to be
had.7
The man started to work &or *p&el! and he worked with a will. Fourteen hours a day. )n a tropial
ountry. )n a wooden shak under a orrugated iron roo&. Two pesos &i&ty a day. Fi&ty entavos a
night &or a bed ' no! not ?uite a bed! but a wooden &rame with a piee o& anvas strethed aross it.
)n a &lophouse! where bugs and mos?uitoes made eah night a hell. Fi&ty entavos &or a noon
omida at the Chink,s! and &i&ty more &or a supper there. Twenty entavos &or a up o& break&ast
o&&ee and ten entavos &or two dry rolls. * &ew igarettes a day. * glass o& ie water &or &ive
entavos ' perhaps two or three glasses during the long day. Then his shirt &ell to piees! his shoes
already having gone west be&ore he began to work &or *p&el. 5ew shoes onsumed a &ull week,s
work! a shirt two days, work! always assuming that he bought nothing to eat. This went on &or two
weeks! three weeks! &our weeks. Then he was taken to the loal poorhouse ' malaria! &ever! %od
knows what. Two days later he was rammed into a pine bo4 and shoved into the ground.
But *p&el &ul&illed his ontrat &or the tank and got an order &or three more o& the same. He ould
always &ind more starving immigrants! i& not Hungarians! then *ustrians! or %ermans! or <oles! or
C3ehs. The port was swarming with them@ and they were all so grate&ul to *p&el &or giving them
work. 5ow it was only a twelve#hour day@ he moved ahead with the times and didn,t want to e4ploit
the unemployed. But it was still two#&i&ty a day! with three#&i&ty &or the &oreman whom he now
needed. )t was going on &our years sine he had made his &irst tank@ and he was driving his own ar
and had built a house &or himsel& in the 5orth *merian Juarter. ;es! even the bones o& a
ompatriot to whom you e4tended a helping hand and who! beause o& this help! beause o&
overwork! beause o& the rat hole in whih he slept! beause o& the lak o& proper nourishment died
o& &ever and was buried in a pauper,s grave ' even this ould be turned into gold.
The Budapest newspapers reported that iti3en *p&el had! 7by his industry and enterprise made a
si3able &ortune in a &ew years.7 Fortunes were made overnight that way. *ll you had to do was to
e4ploit the various kinds o& gold mines.
*nd the &oreigners ould do it more handily than anyone else! &or i& natives and nonompatriots
made trouble &or them! they laimed the protetion o& their embassy@ and then &reedom#loving
*meria would threaten military intervention.
15
The dormitory &or the bakery help was a huge wooden bo4 with a tin roo& ' you ouldn,t have
alled it a house. Aaylight entered through window openings whih were innoent o& either glass or
sreen. $i4 wooden steps led up to the door@ the spae underneath them was rammed with old egg
rates! empty ans! old rope! and rotten rags! and there were paks o& rats running wild among the
/unk. Auring the rainy season this beame a swamp hole and an ideal breeding ground &or hundreds
o& thousands o& mos?uitoes.
The dormitory room! /ust big enough to permit passage between the ontraptions that we alled our
beds! served not only as our home but also as the home o& great li3ards! huge okroahes! and
spiders. There were also three dogs wandering about our plae@ one o& them had mange and was
horrible to look at. When he got better! the others got it. But the dogs were very &ond o& us and we
didn,t hase them away@ they were our only solae on those days when we had no time or strength
to take a walk in the streets or the park and &ell into our anvas ots! too worn out to sleep.
-asionally *ntonio or ) would sweep the room. )t was never srubbed! but! as the roo& leaked! we
got plenty o& water inside whenever there was a tropial downpour! whih during the last weeks o&
the rainy season happened every hal& hour. We got bathed in bed! too! and our night,s rest was a
game o& getting up during rainstorms! again and again! to push our beds under some setion o& the
roo& where we imagined no rain would trikle through.
2ah o& us had a mos?uito net! or bar! as they are alled. But they were &ull o& holes! and the
mos?uitoes not only &ound the tears with the greatest o& ease but also ame through those plaes
whih we imagined were &ree o& holes. We sewed up the nets as best we ould! but on the &ollowing
day a rip would start &rom the old hole. ;ou ould say that eah net onsisted o& a number o& large
holes held together by shreds o& rotten &abri.
)n addition to this net we eah had a tattered blanket and a dirty pillow. -n the wall our
predeessors had le&t us an old mirror in a tin &rame! a &ew photos o& nude girls! and some
other photographs o& the kind whih! in many ountries! would ome within the provine o& the
publi proseutor. 5o &ine arts ommission! however progressive! ould possibly have de&ended
these photographs! &or they had absolutely nothing to do with art and had everything to do with
nature,s proesses. But in a ountry where a boy o& ten an buy them as easily as a gray#haired
sailor! they are o& no speial interest@ it,s always only the &orbidden &ruit that tempts. $o we saw
nothing speial about the photos. We didn,t have time to bother about them.
Between nine and two in the daytime you ouldn,t stay in the dormitory@ i& you,d tried you,d have
turned into seared meat. But o& ourse we didn,t try! beause during those hours we were working in
&ront o& the bakery ovens. *nd /ust at the time o& night when it began to get ool and we ould have
en/oyed a gorgeous sleep! we had to get out and go to work.
The work itsel& wasn,t hard@ ) ouldn,t say that it was. But being on your &eet &or eighteen hours or
so without a break! onstantly running to and &ro! bending down and reahing up! putting things
here and arrying them there tires you out &ar more than working hard &or eight hours in one spot. )t
was always 7Juik! ?uik! the round rolls out o& the oven... Hurry up! the devil take you! get those
trays greased... Aamn you! &i4 the beater into the mi4er.... Juik! ?uik! ) gotta have the egg whites
beaten.... That mi4ture,s too salty@ hurry! hurry! take it away and mi4 one up again.... ) want two
kilos o& iing! ) told you that an hour ago... Why! damn it! why didn,t you boil up the aramel
yesterday+ 5ow we,re sunk.... Holy smoke! now FosL has to slip up with the ie ream mi4! and the
slop,s all over the &loor. Thanks a lot! FosL! we,ll all be here until si4 again today! i& that,s the way
you,re doing things.7 There was a onstant hustle and bustle and bullying and surrying. ),m sure
that ) overed a good twenty miles a day! rushing up and down that bakehouse.
Then there was the onstant hange o& sta&&. Hardly had a new man been trained than another le&t.
)n &at! training the men was our biggest stumbling blok. Aou4 would say6 75ow you,ve got two
new men whom ),ve got to pay! and yet you,re not getting any more stu&& baked. What,s the point o&
my hiring new men+ There,s nothing to show &or it.7
)n a sense he was right! but that was beause no new hands knew anything about baking. They had
to be shown everything! even how to handle a hot baking tray or a wooden spoon@ and while you
were showing them you ould have done it yoursel& ten times over. * &ew piked it up ?uikly! but
most would get under our &eet and only sueed in slowing us down. We had one pastry ook who
ouldn,t manage the simplest &laky pastry although he ould produe reommendations &rom &irst#
lass patisseries.
)t was the aliens who made the money &or Aou4. They were the ones he ould e4ploit to the limit.
The "e4ian workers would put up with things &or two! three! or maybe &our weeks@ then they,d
say! 7There,s too muh work here17 and they,d ?uit. By then they had perhaps saved a &ew pesos to
start up a small business in igarettes! hewing gum! leather belts! revolver holsters! andy! &ruit '
things o& that kind. Their trade would bring them a pro&it o& about one peso a day! but they managed
on it and they remained &ree men. $ome o& these small traders limbed higher and higher until they
ould rent some small! dark alove ' what you might all a hole in the wall ' in a narrow street!
where they set up shop. But we stayed on! being a&raid to lose that seurity the bakery o&&ered us.
-& ourse! we wouldn,t have been ontent with one peso o& daily pro&it! &or we made muh more!
one twenty#&ive with room and board. *nd we wanted more out o& li&e.
Those who worked /ust long enough to save a little money to make themselves independent were
ontent with otton pants at three pesos &i&ty a pair@ but suh pants weren,t good enough &or us. -urs
had to ost seven or eight pesos. We &elt that i& we allowed ourselves to be seen in anything less
e4pensive we would lose our dignity and status as white men. The 7&ree7 men bought shoes &or si4
or eight pesos a pair. We wouldn,t have dared to ross the street in suh &ootwear. Think what we,d
look like1 We simply ouldn,t do it! i& only on aount o& the se=oritas. $o our shoes never ost less
than si4teen or eighteen pesos. *&ter all! we were white men@ and in order to remain so in the eyes
o& the other whites ' *merians! British! $paniards! Frenh! and so on ' we had to remain slaves
to the bakehouse! earning good wages. 5oblesse oblige ' all the more so in tropial ountries
where the whites are only a small minority in the overwhelmingly native population.
)t should be admitted however that! although we made the greatest e&&orts not to lose aste! we lived
in an unertain soial position. The *merians! British! and $paniards did not onsider us their
e?uals. To them we were still only &ilthy sum! the sum that stiks to the heels o& the prosperous
whites and &ollows them about the world! and this we remained. But it is the big bosses! the power#
hungry and the pro&it#hunters! who reate the sum@ then! when onditions beome too hot and they
are alled upon to lean it up! they /ust pak up their pro&its! go home! and let the sum rot.
We did not even belong to the mi4ed#bloods! the "esti3os! to whom we were alien rabble. 5or
were we aepted by the pure#blooded natives! the tribes or subnations o& )ndians all over the
Depubli. They would have little to do with metropolitan migrant workers! hal&#vagabonds suh as
we. *lthough every native and at least two#thirds o& the "esti3os were proletarian like us! we were
nevertheless separated &rom them by a gul& that ouldn,t be bridged. (anguage! past! habits!
ustoms! philosophies! views! and ideas were so utterly di&&erent that no ommon link ould be
&orged.
-ne pay day *ntonio and ) deided to go shopping. He bought a new hat! shirt! and shoes. ) treated
mysel& to a new pair o& pants and a pair o& smart brown shoes! whih to make them appear as
having been imported &rom 2ngland were alled -4&ords! and so stamped in big letters on the soles.
5aturally! that word alone! not the ?uality o& the material or the manu&ature! e4plained the e4tra
high prie ) had to pay &or them.
We went straight bak to the dormitory and got into our new lothes.
7What,ll we do with the money we,ve got le&t+7 said *ntonio.
7That,s what ),d like to know!7 ) said. 7),ve been thinking there,s no use in olleting a lot o& stu&& we
don,t want.7
75o! no point at all!7 on&irmed *ntonio.
7But it,d be silly to keep the money in our pokets!7 ) went on.
7;es!7 agreed *ntonio! 7it would be silly! &or it might be stolen.7
7*nd ) don,t think it,s a good idea to put it in the bank! either!7 ) delared.
7We,d only be making ourselves ridiulous i& we took our &ew pesos in and asked to open a bank
aount!7 said *ntonio! and he was right.
7We,d never live it down!7 ) said. 7*nyhow! the bank,s losed now! and we an,t get there when it,s
open beause those are the hours when we,re working.7
7What,ll we do with the money then+ ),ve absolutely no desire &or te?uila now!7 *ntonio on&essed.
7"e neither. ) an,t stand the smell o& it right now.7
7;ou know what we ould do+7 ventured *ntonio.
7Well+7
7We ould go down to see the se=oritas.7
7%reat idea! *ntonio1 *t least we,d know where and &or what our money was blown! and! a&ter all!
we ouldn,t put it to better use17
7$ure! %ales! you,re right there. We,ll go nuts i& all we do is work in the bakehouse and sleep in that
rat hole.7
7;es! and those photos on the wall are getting pretty dull! *ntonio. ) an,t stand the sight o& those
stupid paper girls muh longer.7
75either an ). )t,s almost as i& we,re married to them. They seem to &ollow us with their eyes and
wath everything we do. ),m &ed up with them. We need some new &aes17
With this! *ntonio got up &rom the edge o& his ot! went over to the wall! and tore down all the
beauti&ul naked women. Then eah o& us put aside one silver peso whih we hid in an old shoe@ we
agreed that we,d buy new women and new photos o& lively doings and inspiring positions to adorn
our lonely walls and thus save our &anies &rom starvation.
Then! so as to be able to make the right impression on the se=oritas! we sprued ourselves up and
went in searh o& the real thing! warmer and sweeter than mere pitures! where li&e was not harsh
but beauti&ul.
)t was already evening. We had a &airly long way to go! beause the se=oritas lived on the outskirts
o& town where they had a whole ?uarter to themselves. This was as agreeable to them as to the men
who wanted to en/oy the good things o& li&e without having to shoulder any obligations in return.
16
We were greeted by the sound o& musi and gay laughter@ with every step that brought us nearer to
the girls the drabness and monotony o& li&e reeded. Beauty prevails where musi and laughter are.
*long the houses o& the ?uarter were onrete sidewalks! barely two &eet wide. The street lay three
&eet and o&ten more below the level o& the sidewalk@ there being no steps! you /umped i& you wanted
to get down. The streets were muddy! smelly swamps@ stones and hunks o& broken onrete lying
about and deep holes &illed with water le&t over &rom the last heavy rain made them pratially
impassable. 5evertheless! ars and ta4is hurned their way through to bring! wait &or! and pik up
passengers. Fre?uently! ars got stuk in the mud and then there was a great lattering! banging! and
hollering as they worked their way out. The drivers didn,t omplain! but laughed and took it as part
o& the game! without whih the ?uarter most ertainly wouldn,t have been what it was.
*t street orners were small groups o& strolling musiians who played very well! muh better in &at
than the street bands in town! where there were so many that they stumbled over eah other,s &eet.
The bands usually onsisted o& a violin! ello! larinet! &lute! and drum. $ome had a trumpet instead
o& a &lute. -thers had a violin! sa4ophone! ello! and guitar! and these were invariably the best.
*&ter they per&ormed they passed a hat around! but it was rare &or a visitor to put in something! and
it was mostly the girls who gave them money.
The bands also went into the restaurants and bars and played there! where their hanes o& money! i&
slim! were better than out in the street. )n every a&L and bar there was daning! &or every plae had
its girls who were supposed to smile and dane and drink with the ustomers! and whose hie& /ob it
was to make them spend money! o& whih they o& ourse got their perentage.
While they were daning the little people ould tell eah other everything that was uppermost in
their hearts without saying a word. There were no taboos as to the style or manner o& daning.
Conse?uently! most people daned so deently that the angels in heaven ould have wathed
without blushing. But now and then a ouple might dane in a style that would have made the
devil,s grandmother hide her &ae in her apron. But she did not see it! having more dire things to
wath elsewhere! and other people did not worry about it@ and the patrolling polieman lit a
igarette! wathed smiling &or a seond! and ontinued on his beat.
* 5egro daner &rom Kirginia was per&orming in (a Casa Do/a as we were passing. $he was alone
in the enter o& the a&L! daning the belly dane ' but the genuine belly dane! the belly dane
that 2ve invented a&ter she got out o& <aradise and ould do as she pleased. 5ot only the men but all
the girls in the plae rose to wath this piee o& supreme art! and perhaps to learn gestures and
rhythms that might be use&ul to them when they weren,t sleeping alone. Those out in the street
pushed in at the open doors to look on.
*t the end o& the dane! she sank to the &loor. Aea&ening applause rang out &rom every side. There
she knelt! her arms thrown bak! her breasts ?uivering! her body rippling and heaving with a &inal
e4piring sigh suh as might &ollow the last tired drop o& a dying mountain stream. Wearily she drew
in her belly and let her head drop! tired and spent! until her &orehead touhed the &loor. Then she
sprang up with a /ubilant ry o& deep and healthy /oy@ slim and eret she stood there! her le&t hand
pressed against her hip! her right thrown high in a gently rounded gesture. Her eyes sparkled and
her white teeth gleamed between her &ull lips. *nd she laughed a vitorious laugh! arhed her body
&orward with an eagerness whih seemed to invite a whole ontinent to embrae her! and ried out!
7Kiva el amor y la alegria! amigos1 Kiva el amor1 Kiva17
* short silene &ollowed. Then the applause thundered out again! the musi &ollowing it loudly.
5ow the daner tugged her thin gown into plae! smoothed bak her thik hair! and stepped to her
table where only her bottle and a glass awaited her.
What is art+ *rt is that whih ama3es and re/oies our souls. Thus! the belly dane o& the Kirginia
5egress was true art! natural and mature.
The men were looking at her with awe and genuine admiration but! strangely enough! none
approahed her or asked her to dane. <erhaps! beause she was an artist! &avored by the gods! they
&elt they did not have enough to o&&er her. They went up to other girls who were more modest in
appearane and who didn,t give intimations o& suh hurrianes o& passion as would threaten to
unhorse the most aomplished Casanova.
The girls didn,t regard the daner as a rival ompeting by un&air means ' not in the least@ &or she
gave the business an Llan whih it had laked ten minutes earlier. 5ow the men had &ire in their
eyes! whereas be&ore they had appeared indi&&erent! disinterested ' yes! even bored.
*ntonio and ) had been wathing &rom the doorway o& the a&L! and ) had lost him in the rowd.
5ow ) saw him inside. He had &ound himsel& a daning partner. $o ) le&t him at the Casa Do/a and
went out to have a look around the ?uarter.
The streets were rowded with vendors! their tiny temporary stalls giving the whole plae the
atmosphere o& a &air. There were stalls that served hot enhiladas! stalls o&&ering taos! risp rolls
&illed with roast bee&! ham! &ried &ish! sausage! or heese. There were hot tamales and orn on the
ob &or sale. ;ou ould buy avoados! bananas! oranges! slies o& watermelon and pineapple! and
hunks o& oonut. $ome small booths sold igarettes! igars! pipe tobao! andy! newspapers! and
maga3ines ' loal ones and &oreign 8*merian! British! Frenh! or what have you9 . *t many little
table stalls you ould buy ied drinks in hal& a do3en e4oti &lavors ' horhata! /amaia! tamarindo!
hia! papaya! and mamey. *nd in the thik o& the swarming streets women and boys approahed the
rowds arrying baskets or igar bo4es &illed with andy! hewing gum! mathes! lottery tikets!
toasted pumpkin seeds! peanuts! sugar#oated &ruits! and &lowers.
"ore than a hundred traders made their living here. Women nursed their babies in their arms and
led their small hildren by the hand as they sold their goods. 5either the morals o& the teenagers
who shouted their wares &or sale nor those o& the women vendors and the hildren at their skirts
were endangered in this environment.
Hundreds o& respetable women! girls! and hildren ' whole &amilies! in &at ' passed through the
?uarter to reah their homes. They thought nothing o& it. To the pure! all things are pure. They ould
have gone another way! but the way through the ?uarter was the most diret.
)n the whole setion only &our poliemen and an o&&ier were needed. They seldom had trouble to
straighten out@ and i& they did! it was regarded as an event. Kery &ew drunks had to be taken into
ustody! &or drunks were rarely seen there. Besides the uni&ormed polie! there were two or three
plain#lothesmen! who mingled with the people! on the lookout &or international opium! mari/uana!
and oaine dealers who might be doing business in the area.
The other representatives o& the authorities in power that you ould see snaking their way through
the rowd were the inspetors o& the <ubli Health Aepartment and! o& ourse! the ta4 olletors.
2verybody around here! itinerant trader! stall owner! or barkeeper! and o& ourse the ever#smiling
girls! had to pay ta4es@ not by ne4t *pril! oh no! but right here and on the spot! in ash! no heks
aepted ' or out you go immediately. The ta4es! high or low! were paid not /ust beause the ta4
olletor was suh a pleasant &ellow@ ta4payers got an unlimited protetion &or their business. *nd
as you would e4pet in a really demorati Depubli! in any doubt&ul ase the girls got an
immediate and a better protetion than the men who tried to run away without paying &or the
servies they had reeived.
The girls who were at the top o& their pro&ession spoke not only Frenh! but also 2nglish! %erman!
and )talian! in addition to $panish@ &or ertain &orms o& entertainment are more pleasurable when
aompanied by the musi o& the mother tongue! and ertain sensations ome to &ull &lowering when
aroused by words that strike hords and memories whih a strange language never an touh. $uh
words bring bak the memory o& the &irst &eeling o& shame! thoughts o& the &irst girl you desired! and
sensations o& those mysterious hours whih ushered in the &irst &eeling o& maturity.
There&ore most o& the poor girls with only $panish at their ommand didn,t get on well! and were
soon taking in the one#peso trade ' native workers! poor devils! who ouldn,t a&&ord to lay out
muh ash on rereation o& this kind. These girls lived in remote parts o& the ?uarter! where the
rooms! or ribs! were the heapest and most rudely &urnished and where street musiians strayed
only oasionally! that is! when the ompetition was too strong elsewhere. )n this area! the girls
dressed so simply that they ould go to town without attrating attention. Their earnings at times
were barely su&&iient to buy rouge and powder! yet they had to have water! soap! antisepti
solution! and lean towels &or every visitor. *t any time an )nspetor o& the $anitary Commission
might enter the room! demand a look at the girl,s health erti&iate! and inspet the room &or
leanliness. The girls, personal e&&ets were their own a&&airs! but the other standard items had to
on&orm with health regulations! or else there would be ?uarantine! whih was a ostly business!
more to be dreaded than a &ine or a /ail sentene.
;et! there was no slavery. 2very girl was a &ree agent. $he ould leave the house and the ?uarter at
any moment she hose. There was no old madame who ould detain her under some prete4t o& a
rent pledge! unearned board! or a laundry bill. Dent had to be paid one week in advane! and that
was that@ i& she ouldn,t pay in advane she had to leave the ?uarter. *ny girl aught soliiting in
the streets was put into /ail.
)n the so#alled %olden $etion at the entrane to the ?uarter! &looded by the brilliant lights o& the
dane halls! lived the Frenh girls. They spoke a torrentially rapid Frenh! and all o& them swore
that they were <arisiennes@ most o& them! o& ourse! never had set eyes on <aris! but ame &rom
(ondon! Berlin! 5aples! Budapest! Warsaw! (eningrad! and plaes even &arther &rom the Frenh
apital. 5one o& them had o&&iial passports! &or ladies devoting themselves to this most anient
pro&ession are not permitted to immigrate@ but they got in! somehow! eah one by a di&&erent trik.
The <arisiennes were the most elegant girls in the ?uarter@ they had to be! to keep going in the
%olden $etion. The moment their earnings eased to a&&ord the neessary trappings! a thing that
ould happen ?uikly and did happen o&ten! the girls had to move to the ne4t heaper setion. *nd
so it would ome to pass with many a girl who didn,t su&&iiently understand the business! and
&ailed to learn the triks whih might have made her the mistress o& her trade! that she had to move
&arther and &arther away &rom the %olden $etion until she ended up in the ribs in the lowliest area
o& all.
The girls in the %olden $etion were visited by men to whom dollars and pesos were as nothing!
suh as the oilmen who had lived in the bush &or si4 or eight months where they ouldn,t spend
money! and who ame with thousands o& dollars burning holes in their pokets. <erhaps they would
start out intending to spend no more than twenty! yet might end up ne4t morning begging a peso to
get bak to the hotel by seond#lass bus. Then there were those *merian tourists who ame to the
ountry &or no other pleasure but /ust this one! and o& ourse overpaid &or every servie. There were
also the speulators who sold shares o& oil stok! gold or silver mines to greenhorns! shares in
phantom wells in areas where no oil would be &ound unless the poor investor arried a an o& it to
the plae. These men! loaded with ash so easily a?uired! went &rom house to house and girl to girl
with ine4haustible vitality. "ind you! they went to the mistresses o& the art! those highly
e4periened &emales who ould have made a lively &ountain spurt &rom the driest tree trunk.
The houses o& the ?uarter were mainly o& wood and they all looked alike! lined up side by side like
Baltimore row houses. They were with &ew e4eptions one#room a&&airs@ the room had only one
door whih opened diretly onto the street! and eah room had one barred window whih was
ungla3ed but in some ases overed with mos?uito netting. The one door was both &or seurity and
non#seretive aess@ there was no alley#entrane business and no slipping out the bak way.
Thus! the girls sat in plain view at their open doors! or they stood about! alone or in small groups!
hattering and laughing@ i& they had troubles! they kept them to themselves.
"any o& the girls made a pratie o& sitting at their doors roheting &ine lae or embroidering
dainty handkerhie&s. )t was a maneuver that never &ailed. )t reminded men who were perhaps
having to spend long strethes o& time in a &oreign ountry or who had been at sea! in the /ungle! the
oil &ield! or the bush &or weeks or months on end o& the o3y domestiity o& their homes.
* man ouldn,t pass a door without being greeted by a girl! who invited him with the sweetest o&
words and gestures to step in and have a good time. -&ten the invitation was aompanied by suh
daring promises that the most iron resistane and most holy vow might be overthrown on the spot.
-ne you had passed by her door! however! the girl would immediately desist! &or you would be on
her neighbor,s territory where only she had a right to make inviting promises.
There was only one way to pass by these girls easily6 75o money!7 and you were &ree to pass!
assuming that the girl believed you. )n most ases she didn,t! but would play&ully proeed to reah
into your pokets! never atually li&ting as muh as a ?uinto.
The se=oritas demonstrated their diplomay in re&raining &rom oa4ing the loal! respetable
iti3ens who had to pass through the ?uarter on their way home. "ost o& them hose their lients
aording to their own tastes and by no means aosted every man who passed their door. * man
might pause at a door! intent on getting on with a partiular girl! but no amount o& money or high
bidding ould win her over i& &or some reason the gentleman was not to her liking. $ome se=oritas
re&used to welome a Chinese! others a 5egro! and some wouldn,t aept an )ndian. ;et! as in all
businesses! i& trade was bad the girls might bring themselves to smile at someone whom three days
previously they would have indignantly turned away.
The se=oritas gave &ull value &or the money. ;et these mistresses laked what has been alled the
love o& the adored woman. Time is money! and at the ?uarter you would searh in vain &or sweet
tri&ling! &or tender play&ulness! &or hours o& desire and groping toward &ul&illment. They had high
art! yes@ what you didn,t get &rom them was the sweet longing &or the lover.
Thus! the girls merely on&irmed the prieless value o& the loved and loving woman. They knew
this! too! and made no attempt to deny it@ they sold only and preisely what the gentlemen bargained
&or. They were artists and good businesswomen@ they knew how to attrat their lientele and how to
keep the business going.
17
7-h! now! there you are! *ntonio!7 ) greeted him. 7),ve been looking &or you all around the ?uarter.
) thought you must have gone home.7
75o! ) wasn,t thinking o& going home yet! %ales. (et,s go to the $alon <ai&io and try our luk.7
The <ai&io had a broad main room deorated in gold. *long one side were a number o& reesses!
eah with a table surrounded on three sides by a om&ortably padded benh@ the bak wall had a
similar settee along its entire length. -pposite the reesses was a bar with high stools! and on a
plat&orm in the orner was the dane band. The walls were deorated with li&e#si3e paintings o&
nude women. These handsome women needed no &ig leaves to remind you that they had something
to hide. )n this ountry it would be laughable to try to persuade men and women or even hildren
that the human body sprouted &ig leaves.
The girls were sitting on the long settee waiting &or daning partners! while the men sat at the bar or
in the reesses. Two or three men had girls with them and were onversing with great deorum and
with as muh animation as i& they were in a ballroom o& 5ew ;ork,s upper set. But they were
en/oying themselves more beause they ould! i& they so wished! say what was in their hearts!
whereas in the upper set suh talk might lead others to suspet that you didn,t know the nieties o&
the language.
* one#step dane piee was blaring &rom the plat&orm! but the men were slow to reat@ they seemed
embarrassed and shy! and i& the girls hadn,t given them suh &riendly and enouraging smiles they
never would have brought themselves to dane. They tried to oneal their shyness by sitting at the
bar and drinking and drinking! drinking more than they really wanted. )t was their way o& showing
their manliness! &or they laked the ourage to show it in any other way. They went on drinking so
as to be able to stay in the <ai&io near the girls whose smiles they loved and whose pretty &aes
they were delighted to see. But despite the smiles o& the girls! the men held bak and obliged the
girls to dane with eah other. Finally! a &ew men pluked up ourage and asked a se=orita &or a
dane. Then others began to unbend a little.
*&ter a dane! the men as a rule esorted their partners bak to their seats while they themselves
went to the bar or to a seat in the reesses@ but now and again a gentleman might invite one or two
' i& he didn,t &eel on&ident! three or &our ' girls to share his table and drink a bottle o& beer or
take a shot o& something stronger.
7What will you have to drink! se=orita+7
7* whiskey and soda &or me.7
7),ll have a ogna.7
7For me! a baardi.7
7),ll have a bottle o& beer.7
7),d like a pak o& igarettes.7
They never ordered hampagne or e4pensive wines on suh easy invitation! but i& a man happened
to be there who &elt like showing o&& or was bent on getting through &our months, wages in one
night! he would order hampagne and goodness knows what else and issue the invitation! 7)t,s on
me! se=oritas17 Twenty or more o& them might then /oin in the spree! and things would warm up. -n
suh oasions nothing was &orbidden and there was no losing time.
The proprietor had his legal liense! all stamped and hung up in plain sight! to manage his business
so that it did not run at a loss. To avoid misunderstanding! he had signs hung up! suh as 7*ll
Arinks -ne <eso.7 There was no need &or polie regulation! in prie or anything else. The ustomers
and proprietors regulated things between themselves by the &ree play o& supply and demand!
through &ree ompetition! and the absene o& onditions imposed by over#restritive lienses. )& too
many bars opened there was no need &or the authorities to intervene@ the ones that were super&luous
went broke o& their own aord. -nly the ones that gave good value &or their money survived.
*ntonio and ) had taken a table when we ame in. We ordered beer. Then we daned with two girls
and invited them to sit with us@ they ordered whiskey. We didn,t ?uite know what to say to them!
and ) &elt sorry &or them while they were making every e&&ort to get a onversation going. ) was glad
when another dane started@ we ould make more progress with our &eet than with our tongues.
For the sake o& talking! we asked them all sorts o& silly ?uestions. Aid they have to see their health
dotors every week or every two weeks+ Aid those who didn,t dane in the a&Ls have to pay more
rent &or their apartments than the daners+ What were their earnings+
They must have thought us very green to be asking suh silly ?uestions! when we might have been
talking about more interesting things. But their amiable manner didn,t desert them@ it ouldn,t! &or
they ouldn,t allow themselves the lu4ury o& moods and pouts! whih would be bad &or their
business.
7Will you have another o& the same to drink! se=orita+7 ) asked the girl with whom ) had daned.
7Thank you! se=or! that will be &ine.7 7Then ),ll order!7 ) said.
There she sat! and a&ter a &ew sips o& the drink ) had ordered! the girl started a onversation.
7),m &rom Charlottenburg!7 began Feannette. 7-h! ) thought you were a <arisienne!7 said ).
$he was &lattered. The genuine Frenh girls! she said! alled her 7Bohe7 when they were having
one o& their &re?uent rows. Her real name was -lga! but she had her health erti&iate in the name o&
Feannette! with a photo to authentiate it.
Feannette had lived in Buenos *ires during the war o& 191P#191O. $he had been very ative in her
pro&ession there and had made a small &ortune.
7) suddenly got the urge to go bak home and see what it looked like!7 she told me.
$he &ound her &ather and mother living in the most piti&ul irumstanes. Be&ore the war her &ather
had been with a big Berlin &irm as &atory doorman! but had been dismissed a&ter the war beause a
disabled veteran had been given pre&erene. Her &ather and mother had lived poorly all their lives!
saving and saving &or their old age! investing their money in government savings bonds@ but when
the government devalued the urreny! and thus heated orphans! widows! servant girls! and honest
old &olks out o& their savings so unsrupulously that i& any private individual had dared to do it he
would have been publily branded and perhaps imprisoned! the supposedly gilt#edged seurity o&
the Bartels &amily ' Feannette told me this was her %erman &amily name! though ) didn,t believe it
' beame sraps o& paper so worthless that they ouldn,t even have been put to good use in an
outhouse.
The Bartels deided to gas themselves! but /ust at that point they reeived a two#week supply o&
groats! rie! and dried vegetables along with a tin o& orned bee& &rom some haritable organi3ation!
and with this they kept body and soul together &or another &our weeks.
Then one &ine a&ternoon Feannette arrived without warning! having traveled &rom Buenos *ires to
Hamburg. $he brought with her so muh money that she ould have bought up a whole street in
Charlottenburg! &or she had dollars &rom the 5ew World.
7"y dear girl! how did you ome by so muh money+7 her mother asked.
7) married a attle ranher in the *rgentine. He owned two million head o& attle! and when he died
he le&t me a little &ortune.7
7Whoever would have thought that my girl would have suh a stroke o& luk+7 said the mother.
Thus! Feannette was known in the neighborhood as the *rgentine millionaire,s widow.
With a hand&ul o& dollars! Feannette bought her parents an apartment house that be&ore the war had
been worth maybe a hal& million marks. $he had the title made out in her own name! so businesslike
had she beome in the 5ew World! but her parents were assigned the inome &rom the apartment
house. Then she bought them a good number o& sound shares that would move with the stok
market pries@ these she deposited with a dependable banking &irm! with instrutions that the
dividends when due were to be paid to her parents.
This business over! Feannette took a &ew weeks o&& to treat hersel& to a good time! whih she well
deserved a&ter the strenuous years that lay behind her.
For the proper en/oyment o& these weeks o& pleasure the ooperation o& the opposite se4 was! o&
ourse! re?uired. <leasure is barely oneivable without it. But Feannette didn,t make it a matter o&
her pro&essional business@ being on vaation! she are&ully hose a gentleman with whom she knew
she ould en/oy hersel&.
The Bartels had moved into the apartment house@ with o&&iial permission &rom the housing
authorities they were allowed to oupy the &lat on the top &loor! whih Feannette had had built at
her own e4pense. -ne morning Father Bartel went to Feannette,s bedroom to speak to her and &ound
her in bed with a gentleman. Feannette and her &riend had sat up late in a abaret! drinking plenty o&
hampagne! and &or that reason he had not wakened in time to take his leave at a respetable early
hour! in propriety and silene.
Father Bartel wanted to beat up the man! or shoot him! or deal with him in some other drasti
manner. The gentleman! however! was tat&ul and well#bred@ so with supreme de4terity he
sueeded! despite Bartel,s aggressions! in getting himsel& more or less dressed. Then! with
Feannette,s help! he maneuvered himsel& to the door! onto the stairway! and away. He was sa&e.
5ot so Feannette. Her &ather! no longer obliged to deploy his &ores on two &ronts! gave her the &ull
&ury o& his anger.
7Why did you ome here! you whore! and shame us in &ront o& everyone+7 he roared at his daughter.
7Better ),d have ommitted suiide as an honest doorman than to be so disgraed by my own
daughter. ;ou,re nothing but a whore! damn you. ),m done with you1 (eave my house at one17
The mother tried to alm him! but only made matters worse. The old man was &urious! &or the honor
o& a &atory doorman had been trampled into the dirt. He had! as he insisted a hundred times! grown
old with honor! and now when he had one &oot in the grave! he had to su&&er humiliation at the
hands o& his own daughter whom he had always regarded as an angel &rom heaven.
Feannette listened to all this in silene. )t seemed to her so remote! so strange! and indesribably
silly that she &elt it was all taking plae on a stage! and that she was in the audiene wathing an
old#&ashioned piee o& melodrama.
When Father Bartel repeated &or the third time! 75ever darken my door again! you,re my daughter
no longer17 she suddenly reali3ed that he was speaking to her.
Then she let him have it. $he didn,t get worked up! but told him in a lively! onversational tone6
75ot your daughter+ "aybe you were responsible &or bringing me into the world! but ) didn,t ask
you to! and ) don,t think ),d have hosen you i& ),d been onsulted. What right have you to turn me
out o& this house+ * &ine &ather1 5o one ever alled me a whore be&ore. )& any man had! ),d have
lawed his &ae into shreds. -nly my own &ather takes it upon himsel& to all me a whore1 *nyhow!
there,s no misunderstanding@ you,re right1 ),m /ust what you say. *nd what you are living on now
are whore,s earnings17
The &ather was silent. He /ust stared at her. The mother meanwhile sat down and ried ?uietly to
hersel&. *s a woman! with &iner pereptions largely denied to men! she already had suspeted the
truth. But her homely ommon sense a?uired over a li&etime o& hard work had taught her not to
probe needlessly into things whih are best le&t alone. $he thought it wiser not to know the preise
truth@ that way! li&e was easier to bear.
Feannette was an4ious to put her ards on the table and be done with it. Her role as a millionaire,s
widow hadn,t been to her liking &rom the &irst! but the words had been put into her mouth by
persistent ?uestions on the origin o& her rihes. 5ow she was sik o& the pose! even &or the short
time she meant to be in Charlottenburg.
7;es! whore,s earnings!7 she repeated with emphasis. 72very two! three! or &our dollars means one
man. 5ow you an &igure out &or yoursel& how many ),ve had and how many it took to save you
&rom gassing yourselves. *nd as to your honorable wathman,s li&e! it,s no great honor to be buried
a suiide1 But o& all the men who ame to me not one ever alled me a whore! not even the drunks!
not even the sailors who ome &rom long voyages and arry on like young bulls. *ll o& them have
said a &riendly and ourteous 7%oodnight7 when they le&t me! and most o& them added a polite and
genuine! 7Thank you! se=orita.7 *nd why+ Beause ) never heated anyone. What you all honor
isn,t my kind o& honor@ my honor and my pride are that everyone who omes to me gets an honest
deal. ),ve always been worth the money! and today with all my e4periene ),m worth it more than
ever. That is my pride and honor! never to heat anyone.
7*ll right then! ),m a whore1 But ),ve got money! while you with your wathman,s honor have none.
5obody will give you anything &or your honor. *nd i& ) don,t give you spending money you hang
around the plae here all day and make "other,s li&e a hell with your moaning. )& it,ll give you any
pleasure! you,re welome to run out in the street and tell everyone that the *rgentine millionaire,s
widow is a whore1 ) don,t are. ) /ust don,t give a damn. ),ve already got my visa! and ) hadn,t
thought o& going this month! but now ),ll be o&& in an hour. ) an still have a good time &or a &ew
weeks in $heveningen and -stende ' ) an a&&ord it. Then ),ll start work again. ) need another
&i&teen thousand to reah my goal. *nd now! please leave me alone. ),m going to dress and pak my
trunks.7
Father Bartel le&t the room like a robot! and Feannette said to her mother! 7(ook a&ter Father. Aon,t
leave him alone@ he might do something silly.7 $o the mother le&t. Feannette paked ?uikly@ within
hal& an hour she stood in the hallway with her trunks paked and loked. $he went down to the
&ourth &loor to phone &or a ta4i.
Be&ore the old ouple had time to reover their senses! the ta4i driver was tooting! and Feannette
alled to him to ome &or her trunks. $he took two hundred dollars &rom her handbag! put it on the
table! and kissed her mother good#bye. Then almly she took her &ather,s head between her hands!
kissed him and said! 7%ood#bye! Father dear. Aon,t think too badly o& me! and don,t make a tragedy
o& it. 0nderstand! ) might otherwise have died o& typhoid. ) needed money &or typhoid shots and
hospital treatment! and that was how it all started. When ) reovered! ) was too weak to work! and
so the whole thing went on. )t saved my li&e! and both o& yours. $o: 5ow you know everything
and an &igure out the details &or yoursel&. Well! good#bye. Who knows whether ),ll see you again in
this li&e+7
The old &ather started to ry! took her in his arms! kissed her! and said! 7%ood#bye! hild. ),m old!
that,s all. )t,s all right. ;ou know best. Write us some time@ "other and ) will be glad! always! to
hear a word &rom you.7
Then she was o&&. )n time the old &olks ame to terms with the immoral earnings! and Feannette sent
money to them every ?uarter! whih they never re&used. Honor remains upright only i& you don,t
have to starve@ &or a sense o& honor depends on the number o& meals you eat eah day! how many
you would like to eat! and how many you don,t eat. That,s why there are three ategories and three
di&&erent oneptions o& honor.
7*nd then!7 Feannette ontinued with her story! 7) went to $antiago! Chile! then to (ima! <eru! and!
eventually ame here. ;ou have to know the ropes and understand men i& you want to do business
here. Competition is keen.7
7But you an,t go on doing this &orever!7 ) said.
7-& ourse not. The saddest thing in this world is an old lady sitting in &ront o& her door or walking
the streets and lending hersel& to ations whih we young ones would re&use with a wave o& the
hand. ),ll stay in this business until ),m thirty#si4! and then ),ll ?uit. ),ve saved my money! never
gone in &or the high li&e and big spending. Would you like to know how my aount stands with the
*merian bank here+ ;ou,d never believe it1 ' besides! it doesn,t matter. (ater on ),ll buy a small
estate in %ermany or a &arm in Canada! and then ),ll get married.7
7"arried+7
7Why not+ -& ourse ),ll marry! at thirty#si4! &or that,s when a woman really begins to en/oy li&e@
and ) mean to make something o& my li&e and my marriage. *&ter all! ) have e4periene and )
understand men! and ),ll give my husband suh a li&e and suh a bed that he,ll appreiate what a
treasure he has in me.7
7But you,re taking a big risk! Feannette. The world is small! very small! and a hane meeting with a
' let,s be &rank1 ' three#dollar or &ive#dollar a?uaintane might wrek your marriage17
Feannette laughed. 75ot in my ase. ;ou don,t know me! yet1 *s ) said to my &ather6 "y honor is
that ) never heat anyone! least o& all my husband when ) have one. Be&ore we ever ome to a
mutual agreement! ),ll tell him &rankly how ) got my money. )& he rises above it! ),ll say! E*ll right!
then! we,ll get married under these onditions6 that you,ll never reproah me as to how ) got my
&ortune! and that ),ll never reproah you &or taking it easy on my money1Q
7),ll keep the money! but he,ll get enough so as not to have to ask me &or every penny. *nd ),ll give
him a trial run be&orehand! /ust to make sure that ),m not betting on the wrong horse17
$o ended her story.
*nd the man who gets Feannette will have ause to be thank&ul. )& he isn,t a moral prig! he,ll
disover in a week! yes! or in a night! that Feannette is worth &ive times her &ortune! &or she,ll never
let a marriage get dull. *s ) personally learned! Feannette leaves no desires un&ul&illed1
18
We arrived at the bakehouse about hal& past eleven. )n order to reah the dormitory! and hange into
our work lothes! we had to pass through the bakehouse! where the men were hard at work.
The master saw us! and pulled out his wath. 7)t,s nearly twelve!7 he said.
7) know!7 ) replied! 7we,ve /ust seen the athedral lok. *nd while we,re at it! ) might as well tell
you that ),m through.7
7$ine when+7
7$ine now.7
7Then you,d better tell the old man. He,s out &ront in the a&L.7
7) know. ;ou needn,t tell me. ) ame in through the a&L.7
7*nd ),m turning in my time! too!7 *ntonio /oined me. 7Why do you both have to leave+7 asked the
master.
7We,re not a pair o& sukers! to stay here and work eighteen hours a day!7 said *ntonio.
7;ou,ve been drinking!7 said the master.
*ntonio got belligerent6 7What did you say+7
7Well! ) ought to be allowed to say that it,s nearly twelve!7 the master retorted. 7We,ve been here
working sine ten! there,s so muh to do.7
7;ou may say what you please! but not to us!7 ) put in. 7;ou,re not our boss now.7
7*ll right!7 said the master. 7)& that,s how it is! lear out at one. ;ou needn,t sleep here! and there
won,t be any break&ast &or you in the morning! either.7
7We didn,t ask you &or any!7 *ntonio replied! 7and i& we did want break&ast we wouldn,t ome to
you &or the &avor.7
With that! we went to the dormitory! stu&&ed our working rags into an empty sugar sak! and were
about to leave when *ntonio suddenly remembered something.
7Wait. We,ve le&t our two pesos in the old shoe! and we,d better get them. We,re not leaving our
pesos &or them to buy new pitures17
We got our pesos and passed through the bakehouse one more.
7Who tore down the pitures+7 asked the C3eh.
7We did. *ny ob/etions+7 *ntonio snapped. 7$peak up. We,re /ust in the mood. We sure ought to
be able to do as we please with our own pitures.7
7) didn,t know that they belonged to you. *nyhow! you needn,t have torn them up!7 said another
worker.
7) don,t like indeent pitures!7 *ntonio replied. 7)& you must have stu&& like that staring you in the
&ae! you an buy it &or yourselves. We don,t need suh pitures! do we! %ales+7
75ot us1 ),m glad to say that we don,t.7 ) spoke with great onvition. Then we went to Aou4 and
asked &or the money that was due us. 7Come bak tomorrow!7 he told us.
7We know all about your tomorrows!7 we said.
*ntonio put his sak on the &loor! leaned over the ounter toward Aou4! and raised his voie6 7Will
you give us our money now! or won,t you+ -r must we all the polie to make you pay us the wages
we,ve earned+7
7Aon,t shout like that! or the ustomers will hear you!7 said Aou4 ?uietly! putting his hand in his
poket. 7),ll pay you. ),ve never owed one entavo &or wages. Would you like a bottle o& beer+7
7) don,t mind i& ) do!7 replied *ntonio. proud to aept it.7
We sat at a table and a waiter served us the beer.
7We don,t want to make Aou4 a present o& skin&lint!7 ) said. 7He seemed to think we,d never have
o&&ered it to us.7
7$ure!7 said *ntonio. 7That,s why ) said yes! though ) didn,t really want it17
Aou4 didn,t ask us why we were leaving. These sudden departures were the norm here@ he took no
notie o& them! and didn,t try to persuade us to stay! &or he knew &rom e4periene that it would have
been useless.
He went to the ash bo4 and then brought over our money! put it down on the table! and
disappeared behind the ounter without another word or another look in our diretion.
*ntonio and ) went to a o&&ee stall where we drank a glass o& o&&ee and where the woman in
harge allowed us to leave our saks until the ne4t morning! when we would return &or break&ast.
Then we went bak to the girls! where li&e was more pleasant than in the bakehouse.
The ne4t day! a&ter a morning o& loa&ing on benhes in the pla3a! we went to a boardinghouse!
where we eah reserved a bed &or &i&ty entavos and deposited our bags in the baggage room.
-ur names were duly registered and we were given room and bed numbers. 2ah room had si4 to
eight beds! whih were plaed at random where there happened to be spae &or them.
Baths were available at any hour! day or night ' shower baths at twenty#&ive entavos eah. For
this you got soap! towel! and a piee o& ra&ia ' a sort o& straw washloth. There was no &auet to
regulate the &low o& water! but a hain pull! &oring you to bathe with one hand while the other hand
kept pulling the hain so the water would run. )& you soaped yoursel& with both hands! the water
would stop@ this saved water! o& ourse. *&ter taking a shower we lay down &or a long siesta.
*bout eight in the evening we got up and went into town again! planning to return later. We stopped
at a bar. * tall man was standing around drinking te?uila@ he wore riding boots and spurs! his &ae
was rough! and he sported a mighty mustahe.
7Hi! there17 he alled as we were going out. 7*re you looking &or work+7
7"aybe. What sort+ Where+7
7Cotton#piking. )n Conordia! &or "r. %. "ason. 0sual pikers, pay! and it,s near the railroad. The
&are,s only three pesos si4ty.7
7*re you authori3ed to hire+7
7-& ourse. -therwise ) wouldn,t be telling you.7
7*ll right. (et me have it on a slip o& paper.7
He got himsel& a slip o& paper &rom the bartender! then took a stump o& a penil &rom his shirt
poket and sribbled something on the paper.
) read the note6 7"r. %. "ason! Conordia. This man has ome &or the piking. (. Wood.7
) talked the matter o& the /ob over with *ntonio! but he deided against it. $o the ne4t morning ) le&t
*ntonio at the boardinghouse and took the train to Conordia.
When ) arrived ) &ound "r. "ason right away@ he was in the &ield where many pikers were already
busy and the work was well underway. But when "r. "ason saw my note! he said6 7(. Wood+
Aon,t know him. 5ever told him to send pikers to me. Aon,t need any. ),ve got enough.7
7But you are "r. %. "ason+7
75o! ) am W. "ason.7
7Aoes a %. "ason live around here+7 ) asked.
75o.7
7Then it must mean you. The % must be a mistake! sine you are piking here. How an that "r.
Wood! i& that,s his real name! know that a "r. "ason lives here and is /ust starting to pik otton+7
The &armer looked doubt&ul. 7),ve no idea! no more than you. *nyhow! ) don,t know anyone named
Wood! and my &irst name begins with W not %.7
7This is a &ine business!7 ) said! 7making a &ellow spend railway &are when he,s pratially broke to
start with. ),ll tell you something! "r. "ason! there,s something wrong here. $omeone has done me
out o& my time and money.7
7Well! you an start piking here i& you like!7 "r. "ason relented now! 7but it won,t be worth your
e&&ort. ),ve got only natives piking! and they do it heap! very! very heap. *nd there,s no plae &or
you to live around here.7
7) don,t need a blueprint to see how things are!7 ) said. 7Have you ever worked as a arpenter+7
7),m an e4periened /oiner.7
)& you don,t want to starve in that part o& the world you have to be able to do anything. ) hadn,t the
&aintest idea o& arpentry! but ) thought that one ) was on&ronted with the /ob and had a tool in my
hand! the rest would &ollow automatially.
7)& you,re a arpenter! ) an get work &or you!7 said "r. "ason. 7There,s a &armer who,s building
himsel& a new house! and he an,t get on with it beause he doesn,t know anything about /oinery. ),ll
give you a note to him. He,s only an hour,s hike &rom the station.7
) wasn,t born yesterday. ) knew per&etly well that no &armer wanted a arpenter and that "r. "ason
was only planning to get rid o& me be&ore ) insisted that he pay my &are. 5o doubt he,d instruted
"r. Wood to send pikers to him! and meanwhile he,d hired )ndian pikers &or less money. That,s
the kind o& triks they pull on the unemployed@ they reruited men all over the area! not being sure
how many would turn up. Wherever the &armers had &riends or a?uaintanes they,d send word &or
pikers! and there were always those dupes and down#and#outers who,d risk their last peso on the
train &are. Then the &armer would hoose the heapest workers and! what,s more! he,d beat down the
pikers, wages@ &or the migrant worker wouldn,t have the money to get away again and would be
&ored to pik &or as little as three entavos the kilo.
There was no point in my arguing with "ason! &or the only way to settle aounts with him would
have been to push his &ae in@ but he had a gun in his bak poket! and no matter how well ) aimed
my &ists they were no math &or nikel#plated bullets.
$o ) had to go bak to the station! and while there ) thought ) might as well all on the &armer. )t
was /ust as ),d thought@ he didn,t want a arpenter! &or he was arpenter enough himsel& to have built
a good solid house with the help o& three natives. However! my asking &or a /ob got me a good
meal. *nd the &armer on&irmed that "ason was the meanest kind o& welher and pulled the same
dirty trik every year! so that an in&lu4 o& whites looking &or work enabled him to ut the natives,
wages to rok bottom. For these poor &ellows! who had hardly any other inome during the whole
year! resigned themselves to the onstant lowering o& their wages when they saw that even white
men were begging &or the /ob o& piking otton.
19
When ) got bak to town ) had /ust two pesos le&t ' a&ter all those months in the bakehouse.
) went to the boardinghouse! where ) hoped to &ind *ntonio! but he wasn,t there. He never went to
bed be&ore twelve! &or li&e was at its best in the ool evening when pretty girls promenaded in the
pla3a while the band played. $o ) went in searh o& him.
0nable to &ind him in any o& the pla3as! ) thought that he might be at the gambling /oint. )t was on
the upper &loor o& a ertain large house whih had a bar on the ground &loor. 5o drinks were sold in
the gambling salons! but ie water ould be had! gratis. ) went in /ust as ) was! without vest or
/aket! &or the owners and managers weren,t onerned with what ustomers had on their baks! but
with what they had in their pokets. * man in a work shirt might have two or three months, oil
driller,s wages in his work pants. The more grease#stained and muddied his trousers! his shirt and
hat and boots! the more likely it was that he had two or three thousand pesos on him and had ome
to the /oint to try to double the amount.
-n the landing two men sat at a small table and wathed everyone who went upstairs. They knew
every ustomer who had been there be&ore and had a good memory &or the &aes o& those who
weren,t allowed to enter beause o& past misbehavior. )& a ustomer laimed that a roupier had
de&rauded him! the roupier would pay out the ten or twenty pesos in ?uestion without a word o&
argument! despite the &at that the bank was in the right@ but the gambler would never be allowed in
the plae again.
Cards and die were promptly hanged i& a player showed the slightest suspiion that he was losing
by some sort o& manipulation@ but! in &at! the bank never heated. )& anyone heated! it was the
guests. The bank knew that it was good business to play absolutely straight.
The gambling hall was /ammed! and i& it hadn,t been &or the many &ans and ventilators! the heat
would have made any long stay impossible. There were roulette tables! poker tables! baarat! and
even 7seventeen and &our7 games. -ne bank was kept by a Chinese who was a member o& the
board. This plae was alled the Fokey Club! and it was open to members only@ handily enough!
you beame a member when you entered. Though the law re?uired that every player hold a
membership ard! no one was ever asked to show his ard! ertainly never a white man.
) had guessed right. *ntonio was there. He was standing at a die table! where a 7steerer!7 paid to
stimulate interest at empty tables! was playing. The steerer was raising his stake at every throw!
until at last he was staking twenty#&ive pesos at a time! and this attrated the attention o& the guests
who were at other tables. <eople were intrigued by the high stake@ they pressed nearer@ they
rowded around to wath the rekless player. 5aturally the steerer had ordinary gambler,s luk! but
it wasn,t his own money at stake@ it was the bank,s. The less#e4periened guests! o& ourse! didn,t
know that the &ellow was a steerer. $o! within a &ew minutes! the table was besieged by a do3en
e4ited men wathing the &all o& the die and mentally alulating ombinations and intervals at
whih the numbers were reurring. *s soon as they &elt that they had &igured out the ombinations
they started playing@ so the die table! whih had been empty ten minutes earlier! with only the
roupier standing by it! was now the enter o& attention. 2very s?uare was taken! three or &our times
over.
This drained the baarat table o& players and gave its roupier a hane to make up his aounts!
e4hange hips! hips! and stak up a new pak o& ards. When he was all set again! and the
roupier at the die table was beginning to sweat! two steerers ame and started to play at the
baarat table. %radually the die game slowed down! while the rowd at the baarat table
inreased.
)n one orner a bank was being autioned@ the bidding started at &ive pesos! the ne4t bid was ten!
and it &inally went &or si4ty pesos. ) looked over at the man who had bought it.
7Aamn it all! (eary! old boy! what are you doing here+7 ) alled! &or ),d worked with (eary at the oil
amp. 7),ll ross my &ingers &or you! (eary! up to three hundred. *greed+7 ) shouted.
7*greed! %ales!7 he alled bak.
The people who had heard us laughed and ane over to the table where (eary sat down to take over
his bank. The play started. (eary had to bleed ' a hundred! two hundred! three hundred. He shelled
out the money in staks and pushed it to the winners. He had run out o& hips.
7Aamn it! %ales! what,s up+7
,Aon,t worry! (eary! throw in all you,ve got17
7*ll right! ),ll do it!7 (eary alled over! 7but ),ll be a&ter your blood i& ),m le&t in the lurh.7
7.eep it up. ),m good &or three hundred by gentlemen,s agreement.7 ) had two pesos in my poket.
(eary went ahead with the bets ' &our hundred! &ive hundred! si4 hundred! seven hundred. His &ae
was as red as a tomato! and he looked as i& he were about to burst@ he pulled out a handkerhie& and
wiped streaming sweat &rom his &ae.
The ards &ell one again. His bank won. ) s?uee3ed my &ingers hard. The bank won again. (eary
got up. 7),m autioning o&& this bank!7 he announed.
7How muh have you made! (eary+7 ) asked him when we met and shook hands in the rowd.
7"ade+ How muh+ ) don,t know e4atly. But here! take this! it,s yours!7 and he gave me two
hundred pesos.
),d ertainly earned it. But he didn,t tell me how muh he,d made@ he must have tuked away a tidy
roll.
2asy ome! easy go. But these two hundred pesos hadn,t been so easy! and ) took good are o& them.
) lent *ntonio &i&teen pesos so he ould rent a igarette stall and stok it@ the rent &or the tiny booth
with a striped awning to keep o&& the hot sun was nine pesos a month.
The daily ta4 on *ntonio,s stall was &i&teen entavos. The muniipal olletor ame along every
morning to ollet it! giving *ntonio a stamped reeipt whih had to be shown when another
o&&iial appeared in the a&ternoon to ollet &rom those who hadn,t paid in the morning. This small
daily ta4 was all you had to pay the authorities to set up shop in the street.
)& business was going badly! *ntonio would say to the olletor6 7),ve hardly earned my lunh
today!7 and the olletor would waive the ta4 &or that day. He believed the street trader,s laim o&
poor business! /ust as the trader believed him i& on some other oasion he had something out o& the
ordinary to say. Trust &or trust.
*tually! *ntonio didn,t make muh. -ne day one peso@ another! two pesos ' seldom more than
two. But it was easier than the bakehouse! although the working hours were as long. $ometimes
*ntonio stayed at his stall &rom &ive in the morning until midnight.
) got one or two paks o& igarettes &rom him every day and so redued his debt to me. )t took a
long time! &or eah pak ost only ten entavos. $ome pakets ontained premiums &or ten! twenty!
or &i&ty entavos! whih *ntonio had to pay out o& his own poket. 2ventually the manu&aturers
re&unded these amounts! but the outlay was hard on *ntonio.
-ne a&ternoon when ) was reminising with him! sitting on a paking bo4 by his stall! ) asked him6
7Why didn,t you ome otton#piking with me that time+ ;ou had the &are! the same as ) did.7
7That,s it! ) had the &are. That,s why ) didn,t ome1 ) warned you! but you didn,t believe me. ;ou,ll
not be taken in so easily again.7
7;ou never an tell in advane whether or not it,s the real thing. (ast year it was!7 ) reminded him.
7;es! o& ourse! it may be the real thing! &air work and proper piker,s pay! but ),ve had enough o&
that. Three years ago ) went piking! and do you know what happened+7
7What+7
7When the &irst week was over! we asked &or our wages! but the &armer said that he ould advane
us only one peso eah! whih o& ourse wasn,t enough to buy the &ood we needed &or the oming
week. He ould not advane us one entavo more! he said! beause he had no money@ but i& we
needed any supplies we ould get them &rom his store. $o we got &ood &rom him beause we had to
eat. From that day on! he gave us no ash! but only ).-.0.,s on his store! harging us about twie as
muh &or the stu&& we bought as we,d have had to pay in town. 2ighty#entavo tobao went &or one
peso &orty in his store. * three#peso shirt was si4 pesos. *nd it was the same with o&&ee! &lour!
beans ' everything. When all the otton was in and we wanted to settle our aount and get our
wages! he told us ?uite bra3enly that he had no money himsel& and that we ould have goods and
supplies &or the money owing us. But what ould we have done with the goods+ We needed money
to get bak to town.7
7Aid you ever get the money! *ntonio+7
75o. When we le&t! we had to walk. He said we should write and give our addresses so he ould
send the money in -tober. He never sent a single entavo! and still owes us the wages to this day.
$o we piked &or those eight weeks &or nothing.7
7Well! there,s nothing you an do about it now!7 ) said. 7They still use the same tatis as during the
ditatorship o& Aia3. But don,t worry! *ntonio! there,ll be an end to this some day be&ore the
Devolution is ompletely over17
7) don,t know. They an always get more men@ but di&&erent ones! &or there,s always a new rop o&
sukers every season! men who know they,ll starve i& they stay in town! men who want to work at
an honest /ob. Things may improve! though. We,ve got good governors in a &ew o& the states now!
eleted by the workers! in $an (uis <otosi and here in Tamaulipas! &or e4ample. The governors
spoke at a workers, meeting not long ago and promised ation. The governor o& this state is
preparing a regulation whereby every otton &armer will have to deposit twenty#&ive pesos &or every
piker! and pay his return &are. $o that,s a start.
7$o &ar! %ales! the &armers have been able to do what they pleased with us poor devils. *nd when
they an,t get any pikers they,ll go around moaning about the harvest rotting on their hands! and
they,ll say that the *griultural Workers, 0nion is to blame and ought to be disbanded. Then they
talk about the good#&or#nothing )ndians and the peons who,d rather live as bandits than do an honest
day,s work. 5o one an take me in with that bunk. Cotton#piking+ "e+ What sort o& &ool do you
take me &or+ ),d as soon be pushing up daisies. -r rob. Have you ever seen a poor &armer here+ )
haven,t. He might have some hard going &or the &irst three years! but one he,s worked up his land
it,s sa&er than a gold mine. *nd they,re not satis&ied with that@ they want to turn it into a diamond
mine by heating the workers out o& their wages. Cabrones17
*ntonio was right. ) made up my mind to bring my areer as a otton#piker to an end! one and &or
all. There was nothing to be got out o& it! so it was pointless. What was 2urope,s otton
onsumption to me+ )& they wanted otton over there! let them ome over and pik it themselves@
then they,d know what it meant to pik otton. Heavy with this newly gained worldly wisdom ) le&t
*ntonio,s stall and went over to the snak bar &or some o&&ee and Frenh rolls.
20
5e4t to me in the snak bar was an *merian! an elderly man! and obviously a ranher.
7*re you looking &or something+7 he asked.
7;es! the sugar17
He passed me the enameled bowl.
7) didn,t mean that!7 he said! smiling. 7What ) meant was! would you like to earn some money+7
7) always like earning money!7 ) replied.
7Have you ever ut out attle+7
7) grew up on a attle &arm.7
7Then ),ve got a /ob &or you17
7Deally+7
7* thousand head o& attle! si4ty heavy bulls among them! to be driven three hundred and &i&ty
miles overland &rom my ranh to the port. We leave &or the ranh tomorrow morning.7
7*greed17 ) shook his hand. 7Where an we make the ontrat+7
7Hotel <alaio. *t &ive. )n the lobby.7
These attle ouldn,t be transported by rail@ there were no &ailities &or that! neither attle ars nor
loading points. *s to overland drive there e4isted only &ew roads! many mountain ranges had to be
rossed! swamps bypassed! rivers &orded. %ra3ing pasture and water had to be &ound every day.
7Three hundred and &i&ty miles+7 ) asked the ranher when we met to talk it over. 7*s the row
&lies+7
7;es! as the row &lies!7 said the ranher. "r. <ratt was his name.
7Aammit! that might turn out to be si4 hundred.7
75ot so unlikely. $till! as &ar as ),ve &igured! it might be possible to keep a &airly diret route.7
7What about pay+7
7$i4 pesos a day. ) provide horse! saddle! and e?uipment. ;ou ook your own &ood on the way. ),ll
send along si4 o& my men whom the animals are well used to ' )ndians. The &oreman! a "esti3o!
will also go with you. He,s ?uite a good man! reliable. ) might perhaps trust him with the herd '
but no. )& he,d sell the herd on the way! and bolt! ) ould do nothing about it. His wi&e and hildren
live on my ranh! but that,s no seurity1 ;ou ould searh &or the likes o& him &orevermore in this
ountry. Besides! ) wouldn,t like to give him so muh money to arry about@ on the other hand! )
ouldn,t send him o&& without money. There are so many e4penses on the drive and it,s not &air to
tempt any man that way. *s &or me! ) an,t stay away &rom the ranho that long. The bandits,d be
around the plae be&ore you ould say kni&e. That,s why ),d like to get hold o& a gringo like you to
take over the drive.7
7Well! ) don,t know i& ),m as honest as you think. 5ot yet! anyhow!7 ) said with a laugh.
7)! too! know how to bolt with a herd. *&ter all! you,ve /ust piked me up in the street.7
7) /udge a man by his &ae!7 "r. <ratt went on@ then! a&ter a pause! 7to be per&etly honest! ),m not
trusting entirely to luk. ) know you.7
7;ou know me+ ) an,t imagine how.7
7Aidn,t you work &or a &armer $hine+7
7;es.7
7) saw you there. *nd ) have "r. $hine,s word that ) an rely on you. $o you,ll have the ontrat!
you,ll drive the herd! and ),ll advane you money to pay your daily e4penses.7
7Kery well1 But what about the ontrat bonus+Q
"r. <ratt was silent &or a while! then took out his notebook! made a &ew alulations! and said6 7),ve
leased pastureland near the port! two miles &rom the main terminal market. )t,s well &ened. There )
an wait &or attle buyers to ome to me! and ),ll probably get orders &or several shiploads. )& not! ),ll
sell the herd in small lots. ),ve got a good and very reliable agent there who,s been working with me
&or years! and has always got good pries.7
7That,s all very well!7 ) inter/eted! 7but what about my ontrat and bonus+7
7*ll right. For eah head that you drive through! sound &rom horn to hoo&! ),ll pay you si4ty
entavos e4tra. )& your losses are less than two perent! ),ll give you a hundred#peso bonus on top o&
that! plus your pay.7
7What about the losses+7
7),ll dedut twenty#&ive pesos &or every head lost above two perent!7 said "r. <ratt.
7Fust a moment!7 ) broke in. ) made a &ew ?uik alulations mysel& on the margin o& a newspaper.
7$old!7 ) agreed. 7(et me have a note o& the ontrat.7
He tore a lea& out o& his little notebook! wrote the onditions o& our ontrat in penil! signed it and
handed it to me. 7;our address+7 he asked.
7"y address+ That,s an awkward point17 8) really didn,t have an address.9 7(et,s say right here!
Hotel <alaio.7
7-kay. *ll right.7
7How do matters stand at present+ Has the herd been ut out+7
75o! not a single head has been ut out yet. There,ll be a &ew yearlings! but most o& the herd,ll be
two# and three#year#olds. ;es! a &ew &our#year#olds! too. ),ll help you ut them out.7
7*ll branded+7
7*ll o& them. 5o trouble there.7
7What about the leader bulls+7
7That,s your problem. ;ou,ll have to see about them.7 7*ll right by me. ) an manage to pik them.7
"r. <ratt got up. 75ow let,s have a drink! and then you,re going to have dinner with me. *&terward!
),ve got some private business to attend to.7
What his private business was! that was no onern o& mine. ),m not urious when it omes to
private business. -ne o& the many reasons why ) am still alive.
When we parted a&ter dinner! "r. <ratt asked how muh advane ) wanted. 75othing!7 ) said.
7What+ ;ou don,t need an advane+7 He ated astonished. 7That sounds &unny. Where did you
ome by your ash on hand+7
7)n the gambling asino.7
7Huh1 ),ll have a go at it mysel&! %ales! later tonight. "aybe ) an win your wages and bonus.7
7;ou won,t win them &rom me! "r. <ratt. ;ou won,t even see me there! &or ) mean to keep what ),ve
got.7
7) wouldn,t want to win money o&& you! %ales. ),ll win it o&& the others. There,re always a &ew ra3y
ones in &rom the oil amps who an,t get rid o& their ash ?uik enough. ),ll make a solo table with
two or three o& them. )& you want to learn how it,s done! ome along and wath me.7
75o! thanks! not interested 1 7 ) said! and went on my way.
21
The ne4t morning at &ive we boarded the train! a si4teen#hour e4press ride to the <ratt ranh ahead
o& us. ) knew ),d be doing well i& ) drove the attle bak to the terminal in twie si4teen days.
The e4press train was a good one! made in 2urope. There were only two lasses in the oahes! &irst
and seond! "e4io having less lass distintion than some &our#lass ountries o& 2urope. Here! a
&irst#lass tiket ost a little more than twie that o& seond lass@ but you traveled /ust as rapidly in
seond as in &irst! and seond wasn,t at all unom&ortable.
First#lass seats were arranged in two rows with an aisle between! the passengers &aing &orward. )n
seond lass! where mostly the poorer natives traveled! benhes ran along the sides o& the oah and
at right angles to the benhes were more seats. *ll seats were innoent o& upholstery@ but most o&
the seond#lass passengers arried enough blankets and bundles to upholster theirs.
The huge loomotives were &ired by oil! and they had to produe great power to ross some o& the
highest railroad grades in the world. Behind the oil#tank tender were the e4press and luggage
oahes and the mail ar. Then ame two long seond#lass oahes! a great &irst#lass oah! and at
the end ran the <ullman sleeper.
*t the head o& the seond#lass oahes there was always a detahment o& soldiers! twelve to
eighteen men! ri&les loaded! an o&&ier in harge. This detahment was a neessary preaution
against attaks &rom bandits@ but in spite o& the presene o& soldiers! suh attaks still ourred. The
ensuing battles between soldiers and bandits o&ten lasted several hours and involved a number o&
dead.
There were no suh things as grade rossings with automati signals! nor even signalmen. The train
rushed at a mad speed through /ungle! bush! and tilled valley! aross upland prairies! and over the
$ierra "adre -riente! whose highest peaks are overed with perpetual snow. Bridges spanned wide
gorges! &orty! &i&ty! and two hundred yards deep and several miles long@ the bridges were o& wood
trestle! and the train tore aross them at terri&i speed.
5owhere was the railroad trak &ened o&&! and attle! horses! burros! mules! sheep! pigs! goats! and
wild animals o& all kinds roamed along it and sometimes gra3ed or do3ed between the rails. The
loomotive gave o&& a blood#urdling hoot to lear the trak! and sometimes the animals would lear
o&&! and o& ourse at other times wouldn,t budge until the train stopped and one o& the soldiers got
out and threw stones at them. $ometimes the beasts ran head#on into the loomotive! or were aught
without warning around a urve@ so that the railroad embankment all along the way was marked
with animal skeletons on either side.
5ow and then we ame upon wounded beasts! their legs rushed or bodies torn open! lying waiting
&or death! thirsting! ra3ed! under the tropial sun. 5o passer#by would kill them and put them out
o& their misery! beause their owner might be lurking within sight and be apable o& dragging the
do#gooder into ourt and getting him &ined &or unauthori3ed slaughter o& his beasts to the tune o&
&i&ty or a hundred pesos! or more. )& you were pretty sure that you were unobserved you might put
your pistol in the animal,s ear and put him out o& his su&&ering@ then you,d better take to your heels!
pronto. )t,s ostly! taking pity on animals.
*ll along the railroad the 3opilotes! the vultures! s?uatted and waited &or vitims ' dead burros!
dogs! ats! pigs. -n upland plains or oastal &lats long strethes o& the railroad served also &or
aravans o& burros and mules! &or the ad/aent road was o&ten swallowed by bush or rainy#season
&loods.
The railroad was mainly o& one trak. (arge water towers! wooden tanks on trestles! had been
ereted about every twenty miles so that the engines ould re&ill. *t many small stations the train
seldom ame to a &ull stop. * mail bag would be slung out and another one shot in. $ome ie
bloks! whih were paked around with wood shavings to retard melting and then sewn into burlap!
were simply tossed out &or the onsignee to pik up.
Tikets ould be bought at the various stations or on the train! osting NB perent more on the train@
an e4tra harge whih didn,t apply! however! i& a station had no tiket o&&ie. "any stations weren,t
e4peted to sell tikets a&ter &ive in the evening! in order that the tiket lerk be spared having
money in his isolated o&&ie a&ter dark! a thing whih ould ost him his li&e. *&ter dark the tikets
ost the normal prie aboard the train. 2n route! the tikets were olleted by a ondutor who then
tuked a small tab insribed with the ode o& destination into the passenger,s hat band! thus keeping
aount o& his many passengers.
The soldiers usually sat about with their &irst#grade primers! trying to learn to read. They were all
)ndians and very &ew o& them ould read or write! but they were onsumed with an ambition to
learn. -ne would help the other! and when one had learned to write eso he would be &ull o&
eagerness to pass his aomplishment onto his &ellows.
*bout eight o,lok our train stopped &or break&ast at a station whih looked almost like a lively
township. "r. <ratt and ) got o&& the train and entered a typial station bu&&et ' Chinese a&L! o&
ourse. )n &at! it was hard to &ind an eating plae anywhere that wasn,t Chinese.
*&ter break&ast we walked up and down the plat&orm where do3ens o& hawkers swarmed! o&&ering
things you,d never have e4peted to &ind &or sale on a railroad plat&orm6 parrots! tiger ubs! skins o&
grown tigers! live iguanas! &lowers! song birds in handmade wiker ages! oranges! tomatoes!
bananas! mangoes! pineapples! stiks o& sugar ane &resh &rom the &ield! andied &ruits! tortillas!
roast hiken! smoked &ish! boiled giant rabs@ bottles o& o&&ee! lemonade! beer! wine! pul?ue.
Dagged! bare&oot )ndian girls ran along the train to o&&er themselves as servant girls or ooks in
households.
For the twenty#odd minutes o& the train,s stop! the station was like a &airground. 24ept &or our train
and the evening train! it do3ed in a dead alm! but now it was enough to make your head spin. *
&reight train might ome through and ause a slight stir among the railroad employees@ but! without
passengers getting on and o&&! the station was torpid and sleepy. "ost o& its o& its daily li&e was
entered on those lively twenty minutes or so when the morning train stood there@ and any vendor
who &ailed to do business during that time had &ailed &or the whole day.
*t noon we arrived at a bigger station where we stopped &or about &orty minutes &or the midday
meal. )n the station bu&&et thirty plaes were already laid on several big tables and hal& the plates
were already &illed with soup! &or a ?uik glane was enough to tell the proprietor how many diners
to prepare &or. Then ame the long! long e4hausting a&ternoon through /ungle! prairie like grassland!
and bush. The train &rom the opposite diretion that rossed with us at noon had brought the
morning papers &rom the nearest ity and these were sold on the train.
*t nine in the evening we got out at "r. <ratt,s little home station. We stopped at the antina! whih
was also the loal post o&&ie. "r. <ratt greeted the antina owner! a $e=or %ome3! and introdued
me.
Degular ooked meals weren,t to be had in a plae like this! but you didn,t have to go hungry@ you
ould in &at get a wonder&ul meal together. We bought a an o& Kanouver salmon! a &ew ans o&
$panish sardines in &ine olive oil! a &ew ans o& Kienna sausages 8made in Chiago9! a pakage o&
.ra&t heese! and some rakers. There were no bread or rolls. Bread doesn,t keep well in that
limate@ it turns hard! gets moldy! or is attaked by small red ants.
With our anned snak we had bottles o& $e=or %ome3,s beer! and then went to work on his stok o&
te?uila. *&ter a while we were dead to the world! i& not ripe &or burial@ so we went into the antina,s
poolroom! ourselves in our blankets! and lay down on the &loor to sleep. $e=or %ome3 had a so&ter
bed. He went to his wi&e.
Thinking o& a woman or o& women in general ' ) an,t remember whih ' ) &ell asleep@ and by
one woman in partiular! ) was awakened the ne4t morning. The woman in ?uestion was "rs. <ratt.
$he had driven the Ford in &rom the ranh to do some shopping at the antina and there she &ound
her husband! though she hadn,t e4peted him! least o& all on the &loor o& the poolroom! and in a
well#soaked ondition.
$ine the beginning o& time! the innoent have had to su&&er. ) was innoent! so ) had to su&&er. "r.
<ratt was the model husband! but ) ' whom he,d piked up in the gutter ' was the bum who had
tempted and beguiled him and led him astray.
For he! the good "r. <ratt! would never have done suh a thing on his own. -h! no1 *s we were
leaving! "r. <ratt gave $e=or %ome3 a wink. "en always understand a wink! partiularly i& the two
men who share the wink are married men trying to live in peae with their wives.
7Well!7 delared %ome3! 7you had so#and#so many ans o& sardines! and the sausages! and heese!7
' again the wink ' 7and you had two small bottles o& beer! and "r. %ales had &our and three
te?uilas. That does it. ),ve halked up the drinks on your bill.7
"rs. <ratt was well satis&ied with her husband. 8He ould settle with %ome3 later &or the twenty or
thirty bottles we,d tossed into the orner o& the room. His redit with %ome3 was very good.9 But )
got suh a dirty look &rom "rs. <ratt that ) seriously onsidered aneling the ontrat then and
there. For ) had to spend at least two weeks in "rs. <ratt,s house! while we were utting out the herd
&or the drive! and what ouldn,t this lady do to me in that time+
Fust think o& it. ),d got her good! sober husband into suh a ondition that even now a&ter several
hours, sleep he was bleary#eyed and ould hardly stand up straight. )t,s unwise to go drinking with
married men. )t never does any good. They,re a rae apart.
$o ) was ?uite relieved when "rs. <ratt shoved her ustomarily sober husband into the Ford! seated
hersel& behind the steering wheel! started up! and lanked o&&. That ) was hired to go along with
them didn,t seem to worry her ' let the bum walk. But the thought o& the &ourteen miles &rom the
station to the ranh gave me suh impetus that! as "rs. <ratt was turning onto the main road! )
sprinted a&ter the Ford and dove head &irst into the open trunk. "y dive! however! hadn,t been deep
enough to get all o& me into the trunk! so that a good part o& my length! legs and all! dangled
outside. ) suspet that the )ndian workers along the way must have thought that ) was a tailor,s
dummy whih "rs. <ratt had piked up at the station@ or they may have thought that "rs. <ratt had
run over me and was transporting me out o& sight to the ranh to be buried there.
When we arrived at the ranh no one took any notie o& me. "rs. <ratt drove the Ford into a
thathed barn and went into the house with her husband! leaving me still stiking part way out o&
the trunk. *&ter a while ) dragged mysel& out o& my unom&ortable position and moved into the
upholstered &ront seat.
When ) awoke the sun was low. Whether it was rising or setting ) didn,t know@ ) was a stranger
here! trying to get my bearings! where the landsape seemed a bit unsteady.
7Hello! you down there! have you slept o&& your boo3e yet+7 "rs. <ratt alled &rom the porh o& the
ranh house. 7"y old &ool o& a husband sure piked a &ine type o& man! ) must say. ) an /ust see
you driving the attle into the <anama Canal! you drunk1 )t,s good that there is a anal there! or we,d
be hasing a&ter you to Bra3il! or wherever you wind up with them. Come in here now and have
something to eat.7
) ate a little o& everything so as not to upset the good woman still &urther. "r. <ratt sat over his &ood
and piked about in his plate! not looking up! ating as i& he didn,t know me! grunting when ) spoke
to him. ) knew the dodge! that he,d told his wi&e that ),d led him on! and that he was through with
me! but that as he,d already inurred e4penses on my behal& he,d send me o&& with the herd and have
nothing more to do with me.
When "rs. <ratt went out into the kithen &or a moment! he said6 7(isten! my boy! be a good sport
and play the game. )t,ll all blow over by tomorrow. $he,s not a bad sort@ really! she,s a grand soul.
-nly she an,t stand drinking.7 $uddenly his tone hanged6 7;ou shouldn,t have kept on asking me
to drink to the <resident! to the national &lag! and then to the attle1 ) told you be&orehand that )
didn,t drink. But what ould ) do when you started drinking toasts+ )t wasn,t &air17
Well! well! well. What+ What was this ' oh! "rs. <ratt had ome bak into the room! so he was
putting on his at. *nd he sure knew how to do it. He,d thundered out these last &ew words to suh
e&&et that "rs. <ratt settled hersel& sti&&ly onto her hair! as i& to say! 7There you are! see what a
deent guy my husband is. He drinks only out o& patriotism! while with you ' it,s pure depravity17
*&ter the meal we were graiously e4used@ ) was shown to my bed and ) lay down to sleep.
22
The &ollowing morning! immediately a&ter break&ast! we saddled up and rode out to the prairie to
see i& ) ould pik out a horse &or mysel&. These horses were born! bred! and raised out in the wide
open@ there was no horse stable on "r. <ratt,s ranh. They were shaggy! long#maned and long#
tailed! though rather small@ and they galloped o&& at the mere sent o& man.
Two or three times a year these horses were rounded up and driven into a orral lose to the ranh.
Here they were &ed and watered! so as to get used to man@ they were tied up! bridled! saddled! and
eventually mounted be&ore being turned loose again on the range. *nd thus! with patiene and are!
the horses were kept this side o& remaining wild. The trainers were are&ul never to break the horse,s
spirit! or hurt his pride! or urb his natural mettle.
) piked out a horse! neither the wildest nor the tamest! but one whih looked as i& it would stand the
strenuous trek. We losed in on him! lassoed him! and took him bak to the ranh! where ) le&t him
to his peae! tied to a tree. (ater! ) threw him some grain! whih he ignored@ then some &resh grass!
whih he likewise delined. $o ) let him go hungry and thirsty over night. )n the morning! ) brought
him more grass@ but he shied o&&! to the end o& his rope. Then ) put some water in &ront o& him!
whih he immediately tipped over as he wasn,t used to drinking &rom a buket! &or he,d drunk only
&rom streamlets and rain pools.
)n time ) made him! or rather his hunger made him! &eed and drink@ and so he ame to assoiate &ood
with my presene. Within two days ) ould ome up to him and pat him gently on the bak. He
trembled! but a&ter a while the trembling eased. ) ould not! o& ourse not! spend all my time with
the horse! only moments when we ame to the ranho &or meals@ meanwhile we were very busy
utting out the herd.
When the horse had beome used to me! ) put a bitless bridle on him! with a bridle strap &astened
outside around his mouth. )& a horse hasn,t been ruined by rough handling! you an ride him without
any iron in the mouth@ in &at! he responds wonder&ully. The assumption that you an master a horse
only i& you tear its mouth open! or dig its sides raw with spurs! is utterly &alse.
*t last ) saddled him@ and every time ) ame to the ranh to eat! ) tightened the straps. *t the same
time ) pressed the saddle and put weight on it as i& ) were going to mount. Then ) let down the
stirrups! so that they dangled &reely and knoked against his &lanks. 5ow ) moved about as i& to
mount! by putting a boot in the stirrup. *t the &irst attempt! he kiked and daned away@ but in a &ew
days he was well austomed to the knoking and dangling o& the stirrups. Then ) /umped on! got
one leg over the saddle! and /umped o&& again.
*ll this time the horse had been tied! sometimes on a long rope! sometimes on a short one. *t last )
ventured to mount. ) blind&olded him and got into the saddle. He stood still and his whole body
trembled. Juikly ) /umped o&&! patted his nek and bak! and kept up a &low o& smooth talk. )
mounted again. He turned! ?uivered! but daned and buked only slightly@ then he bumped against
the tree! and so stopped altogether. ) remained in the saddle and pressed my heels into his &lanks. He
beame restless@ but by now he reali3ed that there was nothing to be a&raid o&! so ) removed the
blind&old. He looked about him. $till in the saddle! ) spoke to him! patted him! reassured him.
5e4t ) had to disover whether or not he was suitable &or riding. From the &irst day ) had been
tapping him gently on the rump with a swith! to austom him to this signal. -ne day ) mounted
him! and winked to a boy nearby to untie him. The horse stood still! having no idea o& what was
e4peted o& him. ) tapped him with the swith ' nothing doing. Then he got a good sharp blow!
and lo1 he started o&&. ) kept him under ontrol! out on the prairie! where he ould run &reely. He ran!
and even galloped! but ) kept holding him bak more and more! until he reali3ed that this was a
signal to stop or &all into a di&&erent gait. Through all this time o& training! ) managed to keep my
patiene! never to break his pride@ and so this strong! shaggy three#year#old beame a good horse. )
alled him %itano! whih means gypsy.
Whether in the long history o& mankind a olt had ever been trained &or riding in a similar way! )
don,t know. *nyhow! the way ) had done it produed lasting results! so my training system annot
have been so very wrong.
*nd now the herd had to be ut out. ) possessed not the slightest notion what was meant by that and
how it had to be done. 5ever in my li&e had ) driven even as &ew as &i&ty attle &rom one pasture to
the ne4t. 5ow! sine "r. <ratt was hawk#like! wathing every move ) made preparing the herd &or
the long marh! ) was &ored to show o&& here and there. )& you wish you may all it shameless
blu&&ing. <erhaps you are right. )& ) had never tried blu&&ing at some ritial oasions in my
e4istene on earth ) would have lost my li&e long! long ago.
"y idea 8i& it was good or wrong! this ) did not know9 was to &orm a little group o& the animals into
sort o& a &amily enter o& the whole transport! around whih smaller groups might gather and thus
keep together more naturally! sine attle belong to the speies o& animals who &or many good
reasons pre&er to live in groups or herds! as do dogs! horses! wolves! elephants! antelope! 3ebras '
also &ish.
"eantime! we had started utting out the herd. First! ) ut out the bulls! looking &or a leader bull.
We drove the bulls into the attle orral ) had piked! and ) let them go hungry. ) ontinued putting
the herd! the two and three#year#olds and the o4en! as well as the rest o& the bulls! into another
enlosure. ) e4amined every one to make sure that it was healthy enough &or the long trek@ and all
these were &ened into the &ield so that they might get the herd &eeling. When ) had three hundred
head in that enlosure! ) believed the bulls were ready.
We drove them into the &ield with the piked herd! and the battle &or leader began. The bulls who
were indi&&erent to the honor got themselves as &ar out o& the way as possible! and the battle soon
entered on &ive o& them. The vitor! still bleeding pro&usely! harged toward one o& the ows in
heat! who pushed her way toward him. We attended to all the wounded bulls immediately@ and a&ter
the vitor had spent himsel& and returned to his herd senses! he too got his mediine. For i& the
wounds weren,t treated promptly! they,d soon be &ull o& maggots! and it,d be a long and tedious /ob
getting them out.
Worms! maggots! and tiks are a big problem with any herd! anywhere! but worst o& all in the
tropis. *nd i& attle start losing weight! their skin dries out! and deadens! and the lean attle are in
danger o& being eaten alive by worms and tiks. Healthy animals! however! are attaked only by
limited numbers o& pests whih an easily be kept under ontrol.
-ne we had ut out the thousand head o& attle! "r. <ratt! a very generous man! gave me &ive e4tra
healthy ones as replaements &or those &ive in a thousand who were ertain to &all sik or &ail to
survive the long drive.
Then ) was given a hundred pesos ash in silver &or transport e4penses! besides some heks ) ould
ash in ase o& emergeny! and ) was also given the delivery note to the terminal pasture. Then "r.
<ratt handed me a map.
The less said about this map! the better. ;ou an put anything you like upon a map6 roads! rivers!
villages! towns! grasslands! water pools! mountain passes! and plenty more. <aper is patient@ it won,t
re&use anything. But! though a river or a bridge appears on a map! it doesn,t mean that you,re going
to &ind it where it is supposed to be.
)t was a real /oy to hear "rs. <ratt swearing@ every other word was 7son#o&#a#bith!7 7bastard!7 or 7&
'ing!7 and more in the same beauti&ul strain. -n a ranho like theirs! it ould be damned lonely!
and the nights were long! so you ouldn,t blame her &or living her li&e as intensely as e4istene on a
attle ranho permitted. How else was the poor woman to use up the surplus energy! whih! had she
lived in a village or town! would have gone into hatting and gossiping with the neighbors all day+
To her! everything was son#o&#a#bith@ her husband! )! the )ndians! the &ly that dropped into her
o&&ee up! the )ndian girl in the kithen! her &inger that she ut! the hen that &luttered on the table
and upset the soup pot! her horse that moved too slowly ' yes! every ob/et between heaven and
earth was to "rs. <ratt a son#o&#a#bith.
They had a phonograph and we daned nearly every evening. For a number o& reasons! ) pre&erred
to dane with the )ndian kithen maid@ but 2thel! "rs. <ratt! daned &ar better! and we got onto suh
good terms that one night she told me ?uite &rankly in her husband,s presene that she,d like to
marry me i& her husband should die or divore her.
$he was a &ine woman! "rs. <ratt! she ertainly was! and ) wouldn,t hear a word against her. *
woman who an handle the wildest horse! swear to make a sergeant ma/or wine! a woman be&ore
whom tough va?ueros trembled and with whom bandits kept their distane! a woman who in the
presene o& her husband 8whom she seemed to love9 ould ?uite soberly delare that she,d like to
marry me i& he died or le&t her ' damn it! a woman like that ould stir you even i& you didn,t are
muh about the so#alled weaker se4.
*s we were leaving! 2thel <ratt stood on the long veranda and waved good#bye. 7%ood luk! boy1
;ou,re always welome on this ranho. Hey! $uare3! you dirty dog! you &ilthy son#o&#a#goddamned#
old#bith! an,t you see that blak one is breaking out+ Where are your &'ing eyes+ Well! boy!
good#bye17
) waved my hat! and %itano swept o&& with me.
23
;es! we were o&&. We broke out. The yelling! the shouting! the alling! the high#pithed shrieking o&
the )ndians@ the sound o& the short#handled whips utting through the air@ the trampling o& hoo&s and
all the uproar as a olumn o& beasts shied o&&! rushed away! and had to be bloked in! lest it lost
ontat with the main herd.
The &irst day is always one o& the hardest! so "r. <ratt ame along with us. The herd is still only
loosely knit! and a sense o& belonging together does not develop until the transport has been
underway a &ew days! until the herd knows the leader bull and gets the smell o& mutual kinship.
Then the &amily &eeling! rather the herd &eeling! emerges and the animals want to stay with their
herd.
But they didn,t stay together like a &lok o& sheep kept in order by a shepherd and a dog. For these
attle! born and raised on vast ranges among "r. <ratt,s twelve#thousand#headed herd! were
austomed to spae! and they wanted to spread out! run loose. The dogs we took with us ouldn,t
make muh o& a showing! &or they tired easily and ould be used only &or small /obs. Thus it was a
onstant galloping bak and &orth! shouting and yelling.
) had a polie whistle with me as a signal &or the boys@ the &oreman had an ordinary whistle! easily
distinguished &rom mine. ) put the &oreman at the head and ) took the rear! as it a&&orded a better
view o& the &ield o& transport! and it seemed easier to me to diret operations &rom there.
What more beauti&ul sight ould there be than a giant herd o& healthy hal&#wild attle1 There they
were ahead o& me! trampling and stamping#the heavy neks! the rounded bodies! the proud! mighty
horns. )t was a heaving sea o& giganti vitality! o& brute nature herded along by one single purpose.
*nd eah pair o& horns represented a li&e in itsel&! a li&e with its own will! its own desires! its own
thoughts and &eelings.
From saddle#height ) surveyed the whole o& this oean o& horns and neks and rumps. ) ould
perhaps have walked on the broad baks o& the animals aross the entire herd up to the belied bulls
in &ront.
The animals bellowed singly and in horus. They ?uarreled and pushed eah other around. $houts
and alls went up. The bells lattered. The sun smiled and bla3ed. 2verything was green ' the land
o& perpetual summer. -h! beauti&ul! wonder&ul land o& everlasting springtime! rih with legend!
dane! and song1 ;ou have no e?ual anywhere on this earth.
) ouldn,t help singing. ) sang whatever ame into my head! hymns and sweet &olk airs! love songs
and ditties! operati arias! drinking songs and bawdy songs. What did ) are what the songs were
about+ What did the melody matter+ ) sang &rom a heart &ull o& /oy.
*nd what magi air1 The hot breath o& the tropial bush! the warm! sultry sweat o& the mass o&
moving attle! the heavy vapors &rom a nearby swamp wa&ted to us by the wind.
Thik droves o& bu33ing horse&lies and other insets irled over the trotting herd! and dense louds
o& glittering green &lies &ollowed us to settle on the dung. Blakbirds aompanied us in whole
&loks! lighted on the baks o& the beasts to pik tiks and bugs &rom their hides. 0ntold thousands
o& reatures lived o&& this mighty herd. (i&e and li&e1 2verywhere nothing but li&e.
-ur marh took us over ountry roads &or a &ew days! with &ields and pastureland on either side
&ened in with barbed wire. -& ourse suh pastures an,t be used without the owner,s onsent! so
our herd had to gra3e along the roadsides! whih proved to be ample! and there were su&&iient
water pools still &ull &rom the rainy season.
When ars or truks or pak aravans passed along the roads there was ?uite some per&ormane! &or
we had to push the herd to one side@ but the attle would break away! wheel around! and hightail it
singly or in groups &or several miles. Then we,d have to give hase and round them up! drive them
into the herd again.
)t was even more ompliated when we ame to open pastures where other attle were gra3ing in
herds! o&ten without herders. $ometimes these herds mi4ed in with ours and had to be sorted out@ on
one oasion this took pratially a whole day! &or we ouldn,t drive o&& a single head o& another
ranher,s attle. Had we done so! it would have led to unholy di&&iulties &or whih )! and in the last
resort "r. <ratt! would have been held responsible.
$ometimes! we ouldn,t get rid o& straying animals. They insisted on &ollowing us! beause they
took a liking to our bulls perhaps! or liked the smell o& our herd. ) was always supposed to know at
a glane i& a stray animal got in with our herd! or one o& ours lagged behind@ but the brands and
markings were o&ten very similar and almost illegible. The &oreman with an )ndian driver was
supposed to hase other herds away be&ore our herd approahed them@ but it o&ten happened that a
&ew do3en head o& our own would manage to samper o&& with the other herd. Then the mi4#up
would be hell on hoo&s! and we,d be soaked with sweat and have throats like sandpaper be&ore we
got them all sorted out again.
For a general to take an army overland is hild,s play ompared with the task o& transporting a
thousand head o& hal&#wild range attle aross undeveloped! hal&#primitive ountry. $oldiers an be
told what,s e4peted o& them. Herds o& attle annot@ you have to do everything yoursel&. ;ou are
the superior and the subordinate in one.
*t around &ive in the a&ternoon we usually alled a halt! depending on whether we,d reahed gra3ing
land and water. The animals ould hold out without water &or one day provided they had &resh
grass@ two days! i& they had to@ but on the third day water had to be &ound. )& ) ouldn,t &ind water!
),d o&ten let the herd run &reely and they,d &ind it by themselves@ but suh water might be so &ar o&&
our main line o& advane that we,d lose a day or so.
We set up two amps at night! one in &ront and one in the rear. Fires were lighted! o&&ee made!
beans or rie ooked! amp bread was baked! and dried meat eaten with it. Then we wrapped
ourselves in our blankets and slept on the bare ground! with the sky &or over! our heads upon our
saddles.
) posted two wathes! with relie&s! to keep /aguars away and to keep the herd together. There are
attle who like to nose around at night /ust as some men do@ and o& ourse all the animals are up
long be&ore dawn! gra3ing. We gave them plenty o& time &or this! as well as a long rest at high noon.
*&ter several days ) had lost only one bull. He had been &ighting and got so badly gored that we had
to slaughter him. We ut out the best meat! slied it thinly! and dried it in the broiling hot sun. To
make up the loss o& this one bull! a ow had alved the night be&ore! and this presented us with a
new problem. The little al& ouldn,t make the trek! but we didn,t want to kill it. We wanted him to
keep his noisy young li&e! and we &elt sorry &or the mother ow who liked her baby so lovingly. $o
) took the al& &irst on my own horse! then passed it to other riders about every hal& hour.
This little al& beame our pet. He was a /oy! and it was ever a touhing sight when we handed him
down to his mother! who always ran near the rider holding her al&. There was always a great
liking! mooing and lowing at these reunions! where the little al& went at her udder and she was
almost beside hersel& with /oy. When he got heavier we had to load him onto a pak mule.
)& too many ows had alved! it would have been impossible to show the mothers this onsideration@
but it happened three times more and ) ould never bring mysel& to kill the little ones.
)ngratitude is so muh a part o& human harater that it is best to take it &or granted and not &eel hurt
by it. 5ature on the other hand is grate&ul &or the smallest servies we render her. 5o plant or
animal ever &orgets the drink o& water it reeives at our hands! or the hand&ul o& &odder that we may
give it. *nd so did the little alves and their mothers! although unknowingly! present their gratitude
to us &or the harity we had shown them.
We ame to a large river and neither we nor the guide ould disover a &ord. Farther downstream
we &ound a &erry! but the &erryman demanded so muh a head that the rossing would have been too
ostly@ and ) had yet to &ae the ost o& other rivers! &erries! and toll bridges that had to be used!
regardless. While ) was bargaining with the &erryman! the herd rushed on upstream &or another three
miles. Here we stopped &or two days! beause the gra3ing was very good. Here they bathed!
standing in the water &or hours on end! ridding themselves o& the various vermin that perished in
water.
*&ter two days o& rest! we still had to ross the river. We started to drive them over! but as soon as
they &elt the inline o& the river bed! they turned bak@ though the river wasn,t very wide! there were
deep hannels.
*t last ) hit on an idea. Taking our mahetes! we hopped down some small trees and made a ra&t.
We tied the lassos into one long line and an )ndian swam aross with one end o& the line. We tied
the other end to the ra&t! as well as a seond lighter line &or pulling it bak. ) paked one o& the
alves onto the ra&t! and the )ndian pulled it over and landed the al&. We pulled the ra&t bak and
sent a seond al& over. )n a &ew minutes we had all &our alves on the other side.
They stood over there alone! pathetially wobbling on their spindly high legs! and set up a horus o&
wrethed mooing. )t sounded piti&ul. *nd i& the mooing o& those small! helpless reatures went
straight to our hearts! how muh more did it a&&et the mothers. The little ones had ried out only a
&ew times when one o& the mothers took to the water and swam aross. $oon! the other three
mothers &ollowed. There was an a&&etionate reunion! but we hadn,t time to wath it &or muh hard
work awaited us.
5ow the mother ows were mooing! beause they were separated &rom the herd@ they were a&raid!
and longed to be reunited with their kith and kin. The bulls listened to the mooing &or a while and
then began to swim over. The leader bull was not among them. -nly younger bulls had rossed
over! probably thinking they now had a hane to &ound a new empire on the other side! away &rom
any inter&erene &rom the older bulls. The /ealousy o& the older! bigger bulls was thus aroused!
inluding the leader bull,s. They snorted! and rushed over to teah those preoious young
greenhorns a lesson.
The water ooled them down! however! and by the time they got to the other side they lost the urge
to &ight! although they had been snorting so &ierely &rom the opposite bank. 5ow that the bulls
were over! the ows had no intention o& spending the rest o& their lives with no bulls around@ as they
were in the habit o& &ollowing the bulls everywhere! they &ollowed them now. $oon the water was
&ull o& snorting! splashing attle doing their best to swim aross. )t was a &ine on&usion o& horned
heads and o& thrusting! monstrous baks.
When the going got perilous! some o& them turned bak! and this was the moment when we had to
take a hand. )& we let the timid ones turn bak! hal& the herd might &ollow@ they were all &ighting!
unable to keep a straight ourse in the swi&t water! and milling about and heading &or any bank. $o
we went in with our horses! shouting! using our whips! heading them all aross! aross! and aross
to the other side. Three o& them swam too &ar downstream! dri&ted out o& our reah! and were swept
away! lost to us.
These three were the sum total o& our losses at this rossing. )t was heap at the prie! &or they
weren,t muh good anyway@ they,d made trouble on the transport! they were slakers! and the &ewer
slakers in any troop! the better. 5ow we let the herd have a good rest while we made amp &or the
night. That night one o& my two#year#olds was killed by a /aguar! though none o& us heard a sound
o& it. The arass and paw marks told us the story ne4t morning.
)n every respet! ) got o&& lightly. Crossing by means o& the small &erry would have taken a week!
and would have ost hundreds o& pesos@ and even at that! ),d have su&&ered losses. Cattle might have
/umped o&& the &erry! or &allen vitim to more /aguars or alligators had we stayed so long by the
river. Thus! the pesos ) saved went toward my earnings and bonus.
What ) had saved at this river rossing! ) owed to my dear little alves. The love we had shown to
them and their mothers had been bounti&ully repaid.
24
The attle drive would not have seemed the real thing without bandits or rustlers. )n &at! as eah
day passes! you &eel rather surprised i& they don,t show up. * big attle transport like ours an,t take
plae in a vauum. Ao3ens o& men see it! it gets talked about! and you never know what pair o& eyes
is a sout &or a band o& attle thieves or bandits.
-ne morning we met them. They ame riding along ?uite innoently and might have been taken &or
ranh hands riding to market or looking &or work. They approahed &rom our &lank.
7Hello17 alled the leader. 7*ny te?uila+7
75o!7 said )! 7no te?uila. But we,ve got some tobao. ;ou an have some.7
7*ll right. We,ll take it. %ot any mai3e leaves+7
7We an spare two do3en.7
7We,ll take them too. Well! now! what about money+ The transport must have money &or &erries and
toll bridges.7
Things were getting hot ' money. 7We,ve no money with us! only heks.7
7Cheks! rubbish. Can,t read.7
They talked among themselves! and then the spokesman ame riding alongside. 7*bout the money!
we,ll look into that.7
He searhed my pokets! the saddlebags! saddle! and gear ' no money. He &ound only the heks!
and had to admit that ) spoke the truth.
7We ould do with some ows!7 he deided.
7) ould do with some mysel&!7 ) said. 7),m not the owner. ),m only in harge o& transporting these
attle.7
7Then you won,t be hurt i& ) take out one or two &or mysel&.7
7%o ahead!7 ) agreed! 7help yoursel&. ),ve one good ow! but with a lame &oot. $he,ll be in milk in
three months. ;ou an ure the hoo&@ it,s not bad.7
7Where is she+7
) had her driven out! and he liked her. *ll this time! the transport had been moving on! &or it ouldn,t
be halted by a word o& ommand! like an army! partiularly sine there was no gra3ing. The rustlers
obligingly rode along beside me.
The leader said6 7Well! you,ve given me one! and now it,s my turn to pik one out &or mysel&.7
He piked one! but he didn,t know muh about attle! and ) didn,t mind losing the one he piked.
75ow you an pik one out &or me!7 he granted.
) did so. Then he piked himsel& another one. This time he took one o& the milk ows.
75ow it,s your turn again! se=or17 he alled.
) had to have my little /oke. ) alled the man who was arrying the milk ow,s al& on his saddle.
7Here you are! the little one in the bargain!7 ) said! handing the little al& over to him. He was well
satis&ied with the bargain! and let the al& pass &or a &ully grown animal. But he wasn,t ating out o&
generosity. -h! no. "any people an,t milk ows@ or they an milk the ow only i& the al& is
suking. The milk must pratially &low by itsel&! as i& she,s giving the milk to her al&. $o! the al&
was a welome gi&t to that man. He ould now get milk &rom the ow &or his &amily! or &or sale.
)t was his turn to pik out another ow.
When they rode away! they had seven ows and one al& ' whih ost me a hundred and seventy#
&ive pesos. -& ourse! the possibility o& bandits was duly onsidered when ) made the ontrat with
"r. <ratt@ it was only a ?uestion o& how ),d deal with the bandits. )t,s best to bargain with them! as
with businessmen! and employ diplomay! too! &or they might well have driven o&& with &i&teen!
instead o& seven and a hal&.
)t all ounts up as business e4pense! like &reight demurrage. )t was a business risk! suh as a
derailed train! a ship wreked or burned would be. )n this ountry! at that time! no ranher insured
his herd@ no insurane ompany would issue a poliy e4ept at impossible rates. Bandits were a
business risk! /ust as depot! &reight! &eeding! watering! ta4ing! and liensing might be in other
regions. Here! the risks are rivers! mountains! mountain passes! gorges! sandy regions! waterless
routes! bandits! /aguars! rattlesnakes! opperheads! and! i& worst omes to worst! a attle epidemi
whih might be aught &rom ontat with other attle met on the marh.
Here! the ost was borne by the vastness o& everything6 the land! the herds! the breeding! the
inrease. "r. <ratt,s twelve thousand head were not among the largest herds o& the region. Bandits
and rustlers were /ust another &ator. -& ourse! one an shoot at bandits! or threaten to all the
military. $ome &ools may do that. ;ou an always see it done! very niely! in &ilms6 three do3en
bandits &leeing &rom one smart owboy. )n the movies! yes@ in reality! no. )n reality! it,s ?uite! but
?uite! ?uite di&&erent.
)n reality! bandits do not gallop o&& so easily. )t is the birthright o& bandits to take what they need.
Three hundred years o& slavery and sub/ugation under $panish overlords and Churh domination
and torturers ouldn,t but demorali3e this most upright people on earth. "y bandits were pleased
that they got everything so easily! so pleasantly! with suh genial onversation! inluding my little
al& /oke. $o we all were pleased.
5ow we had to make a long detour! &or a biggish town lay on our route! and no gra3ing ground near
it. We had to make our way up a river ut! and then ross a range o& mountains! la $ierra.
Here! it was getting ool. There was plenty o& water about! but gra3ing was getting tight and the
animals were eating leaves &rom the trees. Tree &oliage was as &illing as grass! and seemed to make
a pleasant hange &or the attle. *s ) wathed them stripping the leaves o&& trees so neatly ) ouldn,t
but believe that attle in anient times may not have been prairie and steppe beasts! but beasts o& the
&orest! living o&& shrubs and low#branhed trees! in woods that have nearly disappeared while tall
high#growing trees have survived.
The mountain rossing was laborious! &or these range attle were not used to mountain trails. Two
lost their &ootholds! one o& them a magni&ient young bull. He went down with his ow /ust as they
were merrily opulating ' a tragedy o& love. We ould see them lying in the gorge below!
smashed. For all that! ),d antiipated more &alls.
We had two ases o& snakebite! too. -ne morning we notied that two o& the ows had swollen legs@
e4amination showed the &ang marks. But the ows had been luky! evidently not &atally in&eted
with the venom. We treated the wounds by utting them open! bathing them in pure alohol! and
applying tourni?uets above the wound. We had a two#day halt! one that rossing was behind us!
and the ows piked up well. ) was glad to be able to save them.
That evening two )ndians started a terrible argument as to what kind o& snakes those had been. -ne
maintained &or rattlesnakes@ the other insisted on opperheads. ) settled the dispute! whih
threatened to beome serious! by drawing a parallel6 7Castillo! i& you were shot at! or worse! shot
dead! it wouldn,t matter to you whether you were shot with a revolver or a ri&le! would it+7
7$eguro! se=or! this doesn,t matter. $hot is shot.7
7There you are! muhahos. The same goes &or ows. They,ve been bitten by poisonous snakes! by
rattlers or oppers. )t hurts. *s &or the rest! they don,t give a damn.7
7;ou,re right! se=or! a poisonous snake. Who ares what kind+7
They &ound my ditum so lever that they turned &rom snakes to urability o& snakebites! disussing
all kinds o& herbs and )ndian remedies! and so their ?uarrel petered out.
25
-ne day at sunrise when we were alling the signal to start o&&! ) rode up a hill to see beyond the
herd and deide on our diretion. From the hilltop! ) ould see hurh spires in the distane.
(aid about with dawn,s shimmering gold! the end was in sight1
-ur troubles were over. )n that town over there! bathed in golden sunlight! /oy awaited us. ) le&t the
herd on the prairie! ordered amp pithed! galloped into town and wired "r. <ratt. )t was evening
when ) got bak to amp! where the &ires were bla3ing and the two va?ueros on guard wath were
riding leisurely about singing the animals to sleep.
To man! who has always been a diurnal reature! there is something indesribably unanny about
the tropi night@ and tropi nights are also unanny to diurnal animals. )n the evenings! small herds
gather round the ranho house to be near man! knowing that man is their protetor. Auring the
weeks a&ter the rainy season when mos?uitoes and horse&lies 3oom through the air! thik as swirling
dust! the attle ome home &rom the prairies to ongregate around the ranho house! e4peting help.
But you an,t help them beause you,ve wrapped your own &ae and hands in loth to protet
yoursel& against the evil spirits o& the tropial hell.
2ven great herds on their home ranhes get restless at sundown. They surround the huts o& the
va?ueros! and the wathes ride around them! singing! throughout the night! and the animals lie
down to sleep. $ome o& the big breeders leave it to the va?ueros to sing or not! &or some think it,s
unneessary. But attle not sung to sleep are restless the whole night through! lying down &or ten
minutes! then getting up to prowl around and rub against the others &or ompanionship. The attle
are then sleepy ne4t day! and &eed less than attle sung to sleep! and hene take longer to &atten into
shape. Auring transports! singing is even more essential! &or attle are even more restless! having to
lie as they do on strange earth.
$o ) had my men sing every night! and they did it willingly. *s the men rode slowly around them!
singing! the attle would lie down with a &eeling o& absolute seurity@ drowsily the attle would
&ollow the singing rider with their eyes! moo and low! sigh gigantially! and settle to sleep. The
more singing through the night! the better! &or the attle &elt reassured that nothing ould happen to
them! as man was near to shield them &rom all dangers! inluding /aguars and mountain lions. )
might add that my own kind o& owboy singing would keep away anyone who adored musi. "y
own singing! &or instane! was regarded as the eighth wonder o& the world! but not as musi.
* &ront wath was no longer neessary! as the river guarded us! and the &lanks needed only the two
regular wathes. ) took the &oreman &rom the &ront! so we ould all spend the last evenings together.
(ater! while the men smoked and hatted around the big &ire! ) saddled up and rode wath along the
herd! singing! whistling! humming! alling to the attle.
Clear as only the tropi night an be! the blue#blak sky arhed over the singing prairie along the
river. The glittering stars studded the velvet night with gold. Ao3ens o& &alling stars streaked the
heavens! as i& winging &rom the high lonely dome in searh o& love or to give love! so unobtainable
in those lonely heights where no bridge spans the void &rom one star to the other.
-n the grassy &lats! only glowworms and &ire&lies were visible. But invisible li&e sang with a million
voies and made musi like that o& violin! &lute! and harp ' and tiny ymbal! and bell.
There lay my herd1 -ne dark! rounded &orm ne4t to the other. (owing! breathing! e4haling a &ull!
warm! heavy &ragrane o& natural well#being! so rih in its ?uiet earthiness! suh balm to the spirit!
bringing with it suh utter ontentment.
"y army1 "y proud army whih ),d led over river and mountain! whih ),d proteted and guarded!
whih ),d &ed and watered! whose ?uarrels ),d settled and whose ills ),d ured! whih ),d sung to
sleep night a&ter night! &or whih ),d grieved and worried! &or whose sa&ety ),d trembled! and whose
are had robbed me o& sleep! &or whih ),d wept when one was lost! whih ),d loved and loved! yes!
loved as i& it had been o& my own &lesh and blood1
-h! you who took armies o& warriors over the *lps to arry murder and pillage into lands o& peae!
what do you know o& the /oy! the per&et /oy! o& leading an army1
The ne4t morning the salt transport ame out. ),d given them salt only one during the whole marh@
&or it,s not wise to risk salting unless you,ve plenty o& water &or them the same day! and the ne4t.
5ow! however! they took salt and drank water to their &ill! so they took on suh a magni&ient
plump appearane! like soldiers with new uni&orms. Their hides! well#rubbed! gleamed as i&
la?uered. ;es! ) was proud o& my transported herd.
)n a &ew days! "r. <ratt arrived with his attle agent.
7Aamn it all! man!7 the agent kept saying! 7that,s some attle. They,ll sell like hotakes in old
season.7
"r. <ratt kept shaking my hand. 7Boy oh boy! how did you do it+ ) didn,t e4pet you until the end
o& ne4t week. ),ve already sold &our hundred head. There,s another breeder on the way! and i& you,d
have been late! the prie would have been lower! &or this market an,t take two thousand head in one
week. Come on! ),ll drive you into town. The &oreman an manage the herd now.7
)n town! we settled aounts! and ) had hundreds o& pesos in hand. $till! he stood me to a real
dinner.
7)& ) get a good prie!7 said "r. <ratt! 7),ll give you another hundred pesos as an e4tra bonus. ;ou,ve
earned it. ;ou got o&& lightly with those damned bandits.7
7) must tell you! honestly!7 ) admitted! 7one o& the bandits ) knew personally! a ertain *ntonio.
-ne ) piked otton with him. He saw to it that ) got o&& lightly.7
7That,s /ust the point. ;ou must have good luk ' everywhere! whether you breed attle! drive
them! or take a wi&e.7 He burst out laughing. 7Tell me! boy! what did you do to my wi&e+7
7"e+ To your wi&e+7 The &ood stuk in my mouth! and ) thought ) turned pale. Women1 They an
at so irresponsibly1 They get all sorts o& notions into their heads@ out o& the blue! they may get a
on&ession /ag. Could she possibly have spilled the beans+ $he didn,t seem the type.
7When your wire arrived! she really raved. EThere you are1 $ee what a wash#out you are1 * dead
loss. But that boy gets the herd over! as i& he was arrying it in a hamper slung on his pommel. Fust
like you ouldn,t ever do. This &ellow,s got something! the &'ing son#o&#a#bith17
7For goodness, sake! "r. <ratt! you,re not thinking o& divore+7
7Aivore+ "e+ Whatever &or+ Beause o& a tri&le like that+7
He gave me an odd smile. )& only ) knew what it meant. 75o. Why should ) get a divore+ *re you
a&raid ) might+7
7;es!7 ) on&essed.
7But why+7
7Beause your wi&e said she,d marry me.7
7-h. ;es! ) remember her saying that! and i& she says she,s going to do a thing! she does it. But why
are you s?uirming like that+ $ared+ Aon,t you like my wi&e+ ) thought that'7
) didn,t let him &inish that one. 7) like your wi&e very muh!7 ) on&essed rapidly. 7But ' please
don,t get a divore1 )& ) did marry her! it wouldn,t be a bad thing! perhaps! but ) really don,t know
what ),d do with a wi&e! ) beg your pardon! what ) should do with your wi&e.7
7What you,d do with any woman1 %ive her what she likes.7
7That,s not the point. )t,s something else. ) don,t know how ),d get on as a married man.7 ) tried hard
to make it lear to him. 70nderstand! ),m only a vagabond. ),m inapable o&
staying put on my rear. ) ouldn,t drag my wi&e along on my travels@ nor ould ) stay put! and sit at a
proper table with a proper break&ast and a proper dinner every day. 5o1 "y stomah wouldn,t stand
it! either. 5ow! i& you,d like to do me a &avor'7
7*nything you like. %ranted!7 he said good#naturedly.
7Aon,t divore your wi&e. $he,s suh a good wi&e! suh a beauti&ul! lever! brave wi&e1 ;ou,d never
get another like her! "r. <ratt.7
7) know that. That,s why ) wouldn,t get a divore. ) never thought o& suh a thing. ) don,t know how
you got suh nonsense into your head1 Come o&& that! now! and we,ll go elebrate the end o& your
attle ontrat.7
*nd o&& we went.
"r. <ratt abruptly stopped drinking. 5ow what is he going to do to me+ ) thought to mysel&. $hoot
or what+
7;es! "r. <ratt!7 ) stammered! 7what,s up now+7
7What do you think happened while you were away with the attle+7
7What+ "r. <ratt! ),m all ears.7 ) &elt so on&used that ) had to searh &or words.
7(a *urora Bakery!7 he said! dryly.
7;es! yes! ome on! what happened to the good old *urora+7 7The bakers are on strike! and
apparently no end o& it in sight.7
7-n strike! the bakers o& (a *urora+7
7;es! but not only o& (a *urora. *ll the bakeries o& the port are on strike. 5ot a bite o& bread an be
bought! not even a stale roll. They,re all eating tortillas. ),ve never seen so many women selling
tortillas.7
7Too bad!7 ) said.
7*nd do you know what the Aou4s are telling the whole world+7
75o! what+7
7That you started that bakers, strike.7
7)+ "e+ $o help me! how ould ) do suh a thing+ "e! driving a herd o& attle ross ountry+ The
bakers out on strike and ) so many miles away+ $o here you an see learly what sort o& rotten
slanderers the Aou4s are ' un/ust through and through. ) know nothing whatsoever about this
bakers, strike.7
7(isten. The Aou4s are saying that sine the time you ame to work there! the bakehouse men have
been dissatis&ied with everything ' with the &ood! sleeping ?uarters! wages! and with the long
hours. ;ou,d hardly le&t the plae when things got going. Then! strike1 -ne day it was (a *urora!
ne4t day all the bakeries were struk. The men now want two pesos a day! better &ood and better
sleeping ?uarters! and an eight#hour day.7
7Well! now ),ll tell you the honest truth! "r. <ratt. Honestly! ) had nothing to do with that strike. )
told you this the &irst time we met! when you told me what $hine had said about me! that ' by pure
hane1 ' a strike always broke out where ) was working or where ) had been working! even i& ),d
hardly had time to look around me. Well! ) an,t help that. )t,s not my &ault i& men get dissatis&ied
and want something better. ) never say anything to suh men. ) keep mum! and let others do the
talking. $o it beats me! everywhere ) go people say ),m a Wobbly! a troublemaker! and ) assure you!
"r. <ratt! that this is'7
7The whole and unadulterated truth!7 "r. <ratt &inished the sentene that ),d intended to &inish ?uite
di&&erently.
That,s how it goes! i& people take the words out o& your mouth and twist them around. Deally! it,s no
wonder that people get the wrong impression about all matters and things.
<eople should let a &ellow have his say. But no! they must always inter&ere in another person,s
a&&airs. 5o wonder it doesn,t make sense.