chapter v

 FROM SALTILLO TO JARAL.—A JOURNEY BY DILIGENCE.—PECULIARITIES OF DILIGENCE TRAVEL.—BRIGANDAGE; HOW THE GOVERNMENT SUPPRESSED IT.—ROBBERS TURNED INTO SOLDIERS.—STORIES OF BRIGANDS¹ AND THEIR WORK; THEIR TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.—A CASE OF POLITENESS.—DINNER AT A WAY-SIDE INN.—CHILE CON² CARNE.—DESCRIPTION OF CHIHUAHUA.—THE SANTA EULALIA MINES; ROMANTIC STORY OF THEIR DISCOVERY.—TORREON AND LERDO.—COTTON IN TRANSIT³.—STATISTICS OF COTTON IN MEXICO.—FRESNILLO.—CALERA.—A BAD BREAKFAST.—ARRIVAL AT ZACATECAS.—LODGED IN AN OLD CONVENT.
Bright and early the next morning our friends were ready for the journey to Jaral, where they were to connect with the train on the International Railway to carry them farther into Mexico. The distance is about forty miles, and was to be made by diligence, as the railway from Jaral to Saltillo was not then completed. They by no means regretted this, as a ride in one of these vehicles would be a novelty. The boys had read and heard a great deal about diligence travel in Mexico, and were more than willing to have an experience of it.
 DEPARTURE OF THE DILIGENCE.
The start was made about seven o'clock in the morning, and there was a considerable crowd in the street to see them off. The arrival and departure of the diligence is an event in a Mexican town, though less so than it was before the days of the railway. It is probable that by the time this book is in the hands of the reader, the locomotive will have a finished track between Saltillo and Jaral, and the diligence will be known no more, except as a relic⁴ of past days. Those who have been jolted⁵ for hours and days in these heavily built carriages and over bad roads will give the heartiest⁶ kind of a welcome to the new order of things. The diligence will long continue on many of the side roads in Mexico, where it will not pay to build the railway, just as the stage-coach still exists in parts of the United States; but the great through routes have lost it for all time.
Immediately on their arrival at Saltillo, before going to Buena Vista⁷, Doctor Bronson secured places for the trio in the diligence for Jaral; at the diligence offices all through Mexico, the rule of "first come first served" is followed as in a steamship⁸ or a Pullman car, and when the vehicle
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 is full the traveller whose place is unsecured must wait for the next journey, extra carriages being very rarely put on. If the weather is good, an outside seat (el pescante) is decidedly preferable, as it affords a much better view of the scenery along the route. American tourists generally take the chances of the weather, and select outside places; but the native, who does not care for the prospect⁹, and desires nothing beyond making the journey as speedily as possible, is quite content with the inside (el interior).
 ON THE ROAD.
Mexican roads are bad, and Mexican carriages are constructed with a view to withstanding all the shaking that a rough road can give. The
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 result is that at the end of a long journey the traveller feels very much as though he had been passed through a patent clothes-wringer or an improved threshing-machine. But no such fear troubled our friends, as the distance to Jaral was but forty-two miles, and the schedule time for the journey seven hours. The road was bad enough, it is true, but the youths heeded¹⁰ the advice of Doctor Bronson, and consoled themselves with the reflection that it might have been a great deal worse than it was. 

1 brigands   

n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They say there are brigands hiding along the way. 他们说沿路隐藏着土匪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The brigands demanded tribute from passing vehicles. 土匪向过往车辆勒索钱财。 来自辞典例句

2 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

3 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

4 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

5 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

6 heartiest   

亲切的( hearty的最高级 )； 热诚的； 健壮的； 精神饱满的

参考例句：

• He was then the heartiest and sturdiest boy in the world. 他那时是世界上最诚恳、最坚强的孩子。
• We parted with them in the heartiest manner. 我们和他们在最热烈的气氛下分别了。

7 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

8 steamship   

n.汽船，轮船

参考例句：

• The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
• It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大，汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》