Page:Vagabond life in Mexico.djvu/346

 344 "That's of no consequence. The Jarocho is born to live free and independent. A bamboo hut, the woods and the river, a gun and nets, are all that is necessary for him, and these I shall find every where. Farewell, Señor; don't tell any body that you saw me weep like a woman."

Pulling his hat over his eyes, Calros gave the spur to his horse. It was not without a lively sympathy that I followed with my eye the retiring figure of one whose exalted passion and adventurous humor had shown the character of the Jarocho in the most pleasing light. I had to gain Vera Cruz on foot this time, as my horse had lost both saddle and bridle. I dragged him along, however, with a halter behind me. Oppressed by heat and thirst, I stopped at a hut by the way-side, and the host accepted of the poor brute in compensation for the refreshment with which he had supplied me.

Two days afterward I embarked on board the good ship Congress for the United States. I could not leave Mexico without regret, for the society to be found in that country had for me all the attraction of a romance, with every particular of which I had a strong desire to become acquainted.