True Tales of the Old West: VII. An Experience of Mexican Justice [pp. 491-497]

'FlltUE TALES OF THE OLD WEST. VII.
AN EXPERIENCE OF MEXICAN JUSTICE.
. EVERAL Californians were
sitting in the bachelor apart!:; at ments of one of their num ber, spending an evening of
social chat, when the ques ^ Hi tion, wvhether a man might
slay his fellow-man and not
",M thereafter feel remorse, was
raised.
"I do not believe," said
one, "that any man with a properly constituted conscience can take the life of another
and not at some time feel regret or remorse."
"Not even in self-defense?"
"Self-defense is, of course, a great palliation," replied the first speaker,'" but
even in that case I believe that the slayer
must at times find himself burdened by a
feeling of horror and compunction."
One of the speakers turned to the host,
who had been a silent but interested listener, and asked, "WVhat is your opinion of this matter,
Captain Eldred?"
The resolute-looking gentleman thus addressed, an athletic, well preserved man of
about forty-five years, who was favorably
known to all for his probity, as well as for
his success in life, cast his kindly but keen
gray eye round the circle, and taking a few
contemplative whiffs of his cigar, replied: "I do not agree with the gentlemen of
the affirmative. I am not a bloodthirsty
man; neither do I think that I am more devoid of conscience than are most men; but
I have deliberately killed a man in my time,
and I can honestly say that I never have felt
the slightest remorse or regret."
"You killed a man, you, Captain Eldred?" said one. "Are you not testing our
credulity for your own amusement?"
"Not at all. What I have said is
strictly true, not only as to the fact of the
killing, but as to the state of my conscience."
"Tell us the story," said the first
speaker.
"Well," said Eldred, "you will all bear
me witness that the subject is not a favorite
one. The principal details of the affair can
still be found in the records of the San
Francisco courts, of which they became a
part many years ago. I will tell you the
story now if you will promise not to repeat
it. I want no fresh notoriety."
ABOUT twenty years ago I was just starting in life as a mining expert, and I had acquired sufficient means to enable me to
operate for myself, so I began to look for a
promising field. I finally learned from a
reliable source that in Northern Mexico
were quartz mines worthy the attention of
any man. I soon found myself in the land
of the Montezumas, and settled upon a
"prospect" that promised well.
My success was much beyond the ordinary, and by the time the shaft was down
seventy feet I had uncovered a large body
of very rich gold ore. My good luck was
not, however, unaccompanied with drawbacks. I found that while at first my
efforts were regarded with indifference or
curiosity, this feeling gradually changed to
one of envy, especially among the high class
Mexicans. This troubled me little, however. I did not fear their interference, for
my title to my property was clearly legal,
and as a citizen of the United States I was
sure of its protection.
One difficulty that I had to encounter lay
in the character of my help, which consisted
of Mexicans of the poor class. Their laziness and general stupidity almost drove me
wild. To escape temporarily from the harrowing task of managing them, I would oc