AN INTERIOR TOWN.
"There are some interesting bridges along the old diligence-road," said Mr. Sanchez, "that have excited the admiration of travellers. A few miles this side of Guadalajara there is a stone bridge of nineteen arches which crosses the Rio Grande de Santiago. Nobody can tell when it was built; it bears at one place the date 1740, but whether that refers to the construction or to the repair of the bridge I am unable to say. At each end there are the statues of the King and Queen of Spain at the time of erection, but they are so worn by time and defaced by vandals that they cannot be recognized.
AT THE HACIENDA.
"There is another old structure near Zapotlanejo, called the Bridge of Calderon, which crosses a narrow but deep arroyo. It is of interest to the student of Mexican history, as it is the point at which the patriot Hidalgo, with 80,000 Indians, was defeated by a few hundred Spaniards. His men were armed only with bows and arrows and spears, in addition to a few old muskets and some wooden cannon that burst at the first fire; the Spaniards were well armed, and had six or eight cannon, which wrought havoc among the followers of the patriot priest. They were so ignorant of the power of gunpowder that they rushed up to the cannon and crowded their hats into the muzzles, in the expectation that they would thus prevent the pieces from going off. Thousands of them were mowed down, and finally the remnant were driven from the field. This was the last great battle fought by Hidalgo; he retreated to Chihuahua with a hundred followers, and not long afterwards was betrayed, captured, and executed.
"The country around here was formerly terribly infested with brigands," he continued, "but they are rarely heard of now. A large number were killed off by the Government troops, others by private enterprise, and finally those that remained were induced to quit the business of robbery, and become members of the Rural Guard."
"You mention private enterprise as a way of getting rid of brigands," Fred remarked. "I do not understand it exactly."