THE INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA CRUZ

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

Bravo accepted these papers, glanced at them and grasped them in his left hand, keeping his pistol still ready. "Very good," he said and, with these words, some of the weariness left his old bones. "Muy bien, mi General," he said, a little louder, and held the orders up and shook them. "Our President has chosen a fine messenger boy for Quintana Roo, one as distinguished as himself. Let me see... General, do you know code? I have put in a request for a replacement operator for the telegraph... when and if it is repaired."

Some nervous laughter greeted this remark, which Bravo chose to interpret as support for his defiance. He winked at his men. "Madero sends a so-called General to us to command the territory with his papers. Our territory, this Santa Cruz del Bravo which we have rescued from the monte and from the sublevados." The General's face was growing red now; shouting, he turned to include those at his rear. "And does this new President send us men of business and science... ingenarios, comercios... or experts in agriculture? No! Not even a man to operate our telegraph. Only a General with papers and no plan, no dreams, no future. General, this is what I think of your papers!"

He tore the decree in half, and half again, scattering the pieces to the wind. A cheer came from soldiers situated at the fringes of the crowd.

"Viva Bravo! Long live Quintana Roo!" And when these had died down... much more quickly than would be anticipated, a voice that some recognized as that of Boleaga...

"Death to Rivera! Death to the swindlers and chocolateros! Down with Madero!"

A few murmurs of agreement followed but not the deluge Bravo had hoped for; perhaps of a consequence of, not only the Federal contingent, but Rodriguez and his men and those he had assembled who waited grimly behind Rivera, weapons at hand. There built, instead, a humming sound, a throb of expectation, a thousand hurried conversations breaking out. The mob awaited direction.

"General Bravo," said Rivera... and many were astonished that a seemingly insignificant man possessed such a voice... "all Mexico owes you its gratitude for your unyielding efforts on behalf of this distinguished city. In the advance guard of a nation come its pioneers who, such as Cortes, Montejo, such as yourself, create the foundations upon which civilization is erected. In recognition of your success laying this foundation, President Madero desires your immediate return, so he may congratulate you personally and offer you the honor which your tenure so rightly deserves."

"A rope," muttered one of the officers from Tabi to one of those from Santa Cruz. This other nodded, but kept his hand on his rifle in anticipation. Amazingly, some of those behind Bravo believed Madero's General, for the humming sound grew lower and a few smiles could be seen, had Bravo turned.

"Our initial contact having been achieved," proclaimed Rivera, "it shall be my purpose now... under the direction of the illustrious President of Mexico, his Ministers and the Congress of the Republic... to take up the tasks you have so admirably initiated. I foresee a day to come when the territory boasts a city of ten thousand, fifty thousand even... a place of wealth and progress to which people flock from the four corners of the globe. And why merely a territory?" asked Rivera now, drawing his sword for the attention of the mob but slowly, ceremonially, deliberately raising it over his head in a gesture of respect more than aggression. "Those in the governments of Merida and Campeche who ridiculed Quintana Roo, who mocked the brave men who redeemed it from the morass of cruelty and superstition in which it languished under their direction, those who discounted this land as worthless... these are the same who clamor to return the territory to the states of Yucatan or Campeche, to return it to the old ways of the old century, and to its old plunderers of the past. But I am here to more this territory forward... to resist these evilly-inspired plottings, and to bring to the attention of the President all that General Bravo has accomplished here. And when this is achieved, I have no doubt that he shall grant us that which is our birthright... statehood!"

The humming grew louder, penetrated by a few shouts of "Viva Madero!" and "Viva el Estadismo!"

General Bravo stroked the barrel of his pistol but could not pull the trigger, for he was perplexed. Certainly his impulse was to place a bullet through Rivera's heart... as it seemed that his brain, concealed within the General's enormous head, was a target Pancho Villa himself could not be sure of striking. But as the liberality of the flattery magnified Bravo, though knowing it for the trick that it was, he could not help but be swept up in the patriotic rhetoric and naive enthusiasm for the future. For, only slightly more than a decade ago it had been he who looked across this plaza from his horse, his heart swelling with dreams as the flag of Mexico was first raised over Chan Santa Cruz. And, while the taste of blood was fresh and the nature of the dreams was opportunity, Ignacio Bravo had, for once, half-believed his own utterances, for all of their naiveté, just as he suspected Rivera did now.

"Men of Santa Cruz del Bravo," Rivera continued, "under the progressive hand of don Francisco, Mexico is rising from its sleep of many decades. Our enemies, foreign and domestic, are in retreat and..."

"Viva Huerta!" someone called out.

Rivera frowned, losing his train of thought and beginning anew. "In the sixteen months since our great popular rising, the President has recognized the contribution that the Federal army has made in securing the peace and progress of the Republic. Your July bonus was only a beginning."

The humming seemed to change to a more aggressive buzzing, as though a hive had been disturbed, angering the insects within. "What bonus?" someone called out from the anonymous center of the crowd at Bravo's back. "What bonus?"

"What are these people talking about?" Rivera asked the old General. "The bonus money was sent to Quintana Roo, the same as it was to the other Federal divisions. I personally handled the receipts, including that with your signature."

"That was not intended as a bonus," Bravo said, "but to be used as a special fund for ammunition. Plenty of ammunition," he added in a lower, more menacing voice.

"What bonus, General?" someone to Bravo's right called loudly.

"It was no good," Bravo spoke up. "These Federals sent a bunch of useless currency. A mistake, nothing to get alarmed over..."

"Down with Bravo!" came the reply from the crowd.

The General's knees began to sag as if a pistol shot had found his heart.

"Down with Bravo!" came more cries. "Viva Madero! Viva Rivera! Long live the Constitution!"

"Call your men off," Bravo warned "or you'll regret this."

"They are not my men," Rivera said, "but yours, most of them. Although not, it would seem, for long."

"What has happened to our bonuses?" demanded a soldado, elbowing his way through the crowd towards Bravo, who drew his pistol and fired. As the man sank to one knee, a dozen others swarmed over the General and pinned his arms... each one of these from Santa Cruz, for the delegation from the capital and those from Tabi and other villages remained mounted. No other rallied to Bravo's aid.

"It was you, Rodriguez," Bravo snarled, giving a defiant laugh. "I should have known better... a mention of Macbeth would have you thinking of Caesar. What were you offered, Colonel? Second in command of the military forces? Civilian Governor? Whatever it was, you'll never get it. These Federals never keep their word..."

"Set him against a wall," someone suggested.

"No, hang him. Bring a rope!"

"Burn the old bastard alive!"

General Rivera sheathed his sword and removed his pistol. "Go ahead," challenged Bravo, "I shall have died upon the field like a man."

But Rivera fired three times in the air. "Citizens, patriots, Mexicans," he declared, "I take possession of this Territory by the authority of President Madero and of the Constitution!"

"Long live the Constitution!" came the reply.

"Viva Miranda y Zuniga," cried one of the soldados... whose recovery from Bravo's victory celebration clearly was incomplete, nor by the mention of the distillers of his choice, did he desire such outcome. "Viva aguardiente!"

The laughter which followed afforded Rivera leverage to defuse a dangerous situation. His orders were to transport a living General to Mexico City, and not the bowl of ashes which the men of Santa Cruz saw fit to reduce him to.

"As Jefe Militar of this Territory, I further order all soldiers to surrender their arms until such time as they will be returned... I trust it shall be a matter of no more than a few days. General Bravo is under my protection. The matter of your bonuses shall be investigated at once, and I shall notify the capital by telegraph."

"The telegraph here is no good and Bravo shot the operator," someone called out but Rivera did not hear him.

"Colonel Rodriguez will supervise collection of your arms and provide receipts to those whose property is personal. With the exception of this expeditionary force and the garrison of Tabi, any man possessing a weapon as of noon, tomorrow, shall be held in violation of these orders, subject to arrest and, if resistance should be made, to summary judgment."

"Pendejo!" a Cabo whispered. "This one isn't wasting any time!"

Rivera had leaned towards Rodriguez. "Is there anyone whom I can trust here?"

"That depends," the Colonel said, "on what you intend to do. For the moment, you might try Captain Otilio," and he pointed out a short, round officer. Rivera called him forward, finding little confidence in his deferential manner save the promise of obedience, if not initiative.

"You are to escort this man to his quarters and protect him there until I have given you other instructions. His life is yours," Rivera added. "You and six of your men may keep your weapons."

"Certainly, my General," the Captain bowed, taking possession of General Bravo with only a glance that denied Bravo the opportunity to even attempt to intimidate him.

"You are dismissed," Rivera said, "until six this evening when there shall be an assembly here. During this interval, Colonel Rodriguez and his men shall be here in the Plaza to receive your weapons."

The crowd remained. "Go on," said a Captain of Rivera's party, waving his arms at the soldiers as if they were so many goats to be driven from a hut. "You heard what the General said... away with you."

"Do you think they will turn in their weapons?" Rivera asked of the commander of Tabi.

"Some of them, General, but do not be surprised if most keep a pistol or at least a machete about. After all, if they were to surrender everything, what means would they have to protect themselves from one another? In this city, General, nearly everyone holds a grudge, and Bravo played one off against the other, else they would have united and arranged for an accident years ago. Some dogs who have been kicked and beaten into submission are loyal that way but, at least, the bonus issue has shaken their faith. At such times, men are apt to turn on those who have betrayed them, and I should not like to be Ignacio Bravo."

"What of the prisoners then? I had heard that there were so many of them, not only bandits but enemies of Diaz shipped here for their beliefs. Where are they? Has Bravo killed them all?"

Rodriguez pointed towards the church. "Listen! That is where you will find them, General, if any are still alive... perhaps such noise is only demons, at their repast of souls. We must be careful, however, for although undoubtedly weakened, many dangerous men will be found there."

Rivera shook his head. "All must be freed, and at once. Such men, whatever their past, define the difference between our success and failure... not only of this mission, Colonel, but for the President as well. The American President Lincoln waited for his Generals to win a victory before he freed the colored slaves. There are few times when such can safely be accomplished and this... our anniversary of independence... is one.

"It has been over a year since President Madero announced that he would not permit debt slavery. These are among the last victims of Porfirio Diaz... Colonel, let us do this duty."

RETURN to HOMEPAGE – “THE INSURGENCE of CHAN SANTA CRUZ”

RETURN to GENERISIS HOMEPAGE