Part 11 (1/2)
A LONELY RIDE.
Ronie and Jack were crossing the vast plain which extends westward and southward along the sh.o.r.e of Lake Maracaibo, upon the border of which stands that beautiful city by the same name, and which is the capital of the State of Zulia. The climate of this region is warm, but cooled by the lake breezes, as well as by the breath of old ocean, it becomes very enjoyable. Thus they rode on under conditions that must have been pleasant had it not been for the shadows of war which overhung every step of their journey.
The road, if the trampled path at places overgrown with rank vegetation, and at others smooth and bare as an open floor, deserved the dignity of the name, soon after leaving the sand belt of the coast, wound across broad fields of sugar cane, indigo and tobacco, or through great plantations given over to the cultivation of cacao trees, which yield those luscious beans that have been described as affording food for G.o.ds. These trees to flourish well have to be protected by some taller species of tree, and for this purpose the tall, over-arching _Erithynas_ is raised, giving the scene the appearance at a distance of being a huge forest, rather than a cultivated field.
Frequently the progress of our heroes was checked, if not quite stopped, by growths of weeds which had sprung up on deserted plantations. In Venezuela land is so cheap that it is more advantageous to abandon a tract of land when it becomes worn out by cultivation, and clear a new territory, than it is to reclaim the old.
The latter thus soon becomes a forest of weeds, which, insignificant at first, soon develop into trees with branches, so that by the second season these overtop the head of a man on horseback. These huge tree-weeds afford support for dense ma.s.ses of creepers, among which Ronie noticed the convolvulus, begonias and pa.s.sion flowers. These at places hung their flowering heads so as to form graceful festoons, or anon lifted them proudly to the breeze, forming picturesque bowers and floral archways.
If displaying beauty and magnificence in their bountiful offerings, these jungles were anything but pleasant paths to follow, and it required skillful management on the part of the rider to save himself from being pulled from his seat, or escape that fate he might expect at the hands of the hangman. The native riders show wonderful ability to run these gantlets, which the newcomer must naturally lack. Now hanging by one leg down the side of his horse, or stretching himself along its back, he would escape the blows a novice would be sure to receive while continuing his flight with speed scarcely abated.
By and by, however, Ronie and Jack came out into a more thickly populated country. The sun was beginning to crimson the eastern horizon with its early beams, and the two drew rein for a short consultation.
”I am afraid we have kept too far to our right,” said Jack. ”Manuel spoke of leaving the mountains over our shoulder, and we seem to be approaching them.”
”If the country is becoming more broken, it has the appearance of being more thickly populated. Do you think, Jack, we need to stand in much fear of the insurgents in this vicinity?”
”Manuel spoke of a victory for his side recently at Barquisimete, and if I am not mistaken, we shall pa.s.s near that city--certainly near enough to be within range of the revolutionists. In fact, I feel pretty sure that the revolution is mainly centered in this part of the republic.”
”I almost wish we had taken the route to Valencia.”
”No doubt, whichever we had taken we should wish we had taken the other before we reached our destination. But that is not the right way to look at it. We must put on a bold front and push ahead.”
”In order to do that we must see that our horses have sufficient food to enable them to keep moving, even if we go hungry ourselves.”
”Right, my lad, and if there is an inn in yonder village I suggest we stop there long enough to allow them rest and feed.”
”I agree to that. Shall you claim to be a revolutionist or a follower of Castro?”
”At present that must depend on circ.u.mstances. Ha! as I thought, we are approaching a coffee planter's little republic, with the liberty of his followers left out. Look beyond that ridge, and in the valley formed by the twin ranges of foothills you will see a typical peasant settlement, which certainly denotes that not far ahead we shall come upon some wealthy planter. These peons of Venezuela are to all intents and conditions slaves, resulting from the debts, it may be, contracted by their remote ancestors, as generation after generation have been doomed to work to satisfy the laws and customs of a country which never outlaws its debts, when those debts have been contracted by a weaker party. The consequence is that the poor of these South American States are destined to remain poor until some radical change has been made in this direction. It is true, Venezuela is not as bad off in this respect as some of the other republics, but it is bad enough here. Ay, in South America the word 'republic' loses the significance of liberty that it bears in other lands. It is natural a people condemned to lifelong poverty, for no fault of their own in most cases, should be ever ready to listen to the call to arms as a summons to a holiday. So you see it is easy to raise an army of this sort, and it is small wonder Venezuela has been bothered with so many outbreaks against its peace and progress. But here we are close upon the s.p.a.cious abode of the coffee planter, who is the princ.i.p.al man of this vicinity, unless there happens to be another of his cla.s.s.”
After having seen the pyramidal structures of the peasants or peons, with roofs slanting to within a few feet of the ground, and thatched with palm leaves, the collection looking like a colony of beehives, Ronie was somewhat surprised to find now a dwelling that closely resembled the houses of his native land. It was, in fact, a fine residence, standing back several rods from the road, and reached by a broad avenue running under rows of stately trees resembling the American elms. He was to learn that these were known here as the _Alcornoque_, lifting as graceful heads, and as tall, tapering trunks as their northern cousins. Everything about this home of the coffee planter denoted wealth and comfort, in marked contrast to the humble huts scarcely beyond the vision, and of a style of architecture peculiar to the country.
”Whoever lives here must be a man of importance,” remarked Ronie.
”True, lad, and being such a rich man, we are running little risk in a.s.suming him to be a follower of Castro at this time. The cultivation of coffee is, in fact, a more certain way of earning a competence, and it may be, something above a living, than any other calling in Venezuela. For this reason nearly all others have been neglected.
Sugar cane can be raised profitably, but that requires more capital to start with, and more manual labor to carry it on. To cultivate sugar successfully one must fertilize it, so to speak, with gold. But any man, if he is poor, can have a coffee estate if he has courage to work and wait for a short season. The day his bushes yield their first red berries he finds something coming into his pockets. The berries are worth as high as thirty dollars a hundred pounds, and cost less than one-third to raise. So you see a poor man, who may have hired the use of a piece of land, which he pays for on long instalments, may plant a coffee farm with the aid of his family, living on products that mature earlier on the same land, until at the end of three years he gathers his first crop of berries, followed by a full crop the next year. We shall doubtless meet with more of these small coffee plantations after this. If I mistake not, here comes the planter himself. Let us risk it in claiming to be friendly to the government.”
Their approach had evidently attracted the owner of the estate, for Ronie had already seen a small, wiry-framed man, of a very dark complexion and das.h.i.+ng dress, coming, toward them. He now stopped to allow them to come forward, saying in a tone of apparent friendliness:
”Good-morning, senors,” somewhat to their surprise speaking in their language.
”Good-morning,” replied both in unison.
”You must have taken an early start, senors.”
”It is because our journey is a long one, senor,” replied Jack, who acted as spokesman. ”Our horses are tired, and we would bespeak for them food and rest at your hospitality.”
”Dismount, gentlemen. My men will look after them, while I entertain you.”