Greaser

“ I began to think the worst of him.
“Did you see a Mexican come into camp?” I inquired of the Negro.
“Sure. Greaser got here this mornin'.”
“He tried to rob me in Holston.”
“'Tain't nothin' new fer Greaser. He's a thief, but I never heerd of him holdin' anybody up. No nerve 'cept to knife a feller in the back.”
“What'll I do if I meet him here?”
“Slam him one! You're a strappin' big lad. Slam him one, an' flash your gun on him. Greaser's a coward. I seen a young feller he'd cheated make him crawl. Anyway, it'll be all day with him when Dick finds out he tried to rob you. ”

“ Well, we ran down and came sudden upon two greasers who were kneeling by a man lying in the road, and seemed to be searching his pockets. We let fly with our Colts; one of them was knocked over, and the other bolted. Then we went to look at the man in the road; he wur a greaser too. ”

“ Experienced stock-men say that sheep usually pay from seventy-five to one hundred per cent upon the investment, and cattle from forty to sixty per cent. But of course this varies a good deal according to the season. There is an amalgam here called the greaser, who is part Mexican, Indian, and negro, and they do most of the sheep-raising. They have straight black hair, very dark complexion, and are extremely wicked and cruel. They are very filthy, and hence the name greaser. They use the donkey, or burro, and pack from place to place. ”

“ Then some one jerked Sheriff Clifford's gun from his holster, and Joe of the Frying-Pan put his own gun squarely into the sheriff's face, saying:
"Now, Sheriff, there ain't no man we-all respect more'n you, but there ain't goin' to be no 'law take its course' in this. We're going to hang this greaser to a sycamore down there'n the grove. Ain't that right, boys?" ”

“ Each greaser carries a large knife; and you bet he knows how to use it. He can throw it into a man’s body at the distance of ten feet every time; and upon the least provocation, if close enough, he will cut your jugular-vein the first whack. They sometimes move their flocks upon the stock-ranges, and any one acquainted with sheep knows the condition in which pasture is left after several thousand sheep have ranged over it. ”

“ Ambrose nudged Madeline; his whisper was tense and rapid: “Don't miss nothin'. Gene's called him. Whatever's comin' off will be here quick as lightnin'. See! I guess maybe that Greaser don't savvy good U. S. lingo. Look at that dirty yaller face turn green. Put one eye on Nels and Monty! That's great—just to see 'em. Just as quiet and easy. But oh, the difference! Bent and stiff—that means every muscle is like a rawhide riata. They're watchin' with eyes that can see the workin's of them Greasers' minds. Now there ain't a hoss-hair between them Greasers and hell!” ”

“ The advantage in the fight was on the side of the Diamond X outfit, even though it was outnumbered. For the Greaser sheep herders nearly doubled the force of the cowboys. But this, in itself, was not such a handicap as would at first appear.
Naturally any cowboy held himself more than a match for any two Greasers, and if this were not enough, the sheep men had the disadvantage of having to cross a stream in the face of fire. This is always likely to result in disaster, even in more modern warfare than that which I am writing about. ”

“ I put Greaser with Bud an' Bill on his trail. They didn't find him, an' now here he turns up.”
“Maybe he can be fixed.”
“Not if I know my business, he can't; take that from me. This kid is straight. He'll queer my deal in a minute if he gets wise. Mind you, I'm gettin' leary of Washington. We've seen about the last of these lumber deals. If I can pull this one off I'll quit; all I want is a little more time. Then I'll fire the slash, an' that'll cover tracks.”
“Buell, I wouldn't want to be near Penetier when you light that fire. This forest will burn like tinder.” ”

“ Take even a little overbearin' Greaser talk. Be blind if he wants his gang to steal somethin'. Let him think the women hev mosied down to the ranch. But if he says you're lyin'—if he as much as looks round to see the women—jest jump him same as you jumped Pat Hawe. Me an' Monty'll hang back fer thet, an' if your strong bluff don't go through, if the Don's gang even thinks of flashin' guns, then we'll open up. An' all I got to say is if them Greasers stand fer real gun-play they'll be the fust I ever seen.”
“Nels, there are white men in that gang,” said Stewart. ”

“ Are we dependin' on this here new way o' takin' care of fellers that kills too many folks? If the Greaser done it, he's guilty, an' that settles it. Hangin's too good for a feller that'll kill a man in camp, an' then try to burn him up. ”

“ And what was the use, he demanded of himself contemptuously, of trying to argue with a bunch of lousy wipes and greasers? They'd never understand the long, soul-killing hours of planning and sweat. They wouldn't realize the importance of the careful timing—of arranging that the laundry cons would start a disturbance in the yard right after the Greensleeves hard-timers kicked off the riot, of getting the little greaser Hiroko to short-circuit the yard field so the laundry cons could start their disturbances. ”

“ Them chinks are here on contract—work so long, then get sent to 'Frisco. Well, better not talk. Lot o' spies in this gang of greasers. See ye later, Yank. Anytime ye need a drink o' cactus licker, go down to the mill. All ye want free. Helps recruit the greasers, too. ”

“ There seemed to be no doubt in the minds of the men as to what they would do with the Greasers.
"We'll have to dispose of 'em," said Bud regretfully. "It seems a pity, too, for the poor things haven't done any harm. But it's either their lives or those of our cattle. The two can't live on the same range, and the sheep have no right here."
"Shoot 'em and drive 'em back into the water if they try to swim across—is that it?" asked Dick. ”

“ But, of course, a good many of those greasers are very treacherous and there is no telling what they will do. They shoot down and rob anybody they meet in their own country, and then, when there is nothing in sight on that side of the river, they watch their chance and come over on this side. ”

“ For, no sooner had the Greasers seen what was the object of Bud and his followers, than the lawless ones took such small shelter as they could find, some behind their prostrate horses, and began firing at the boy ranchers' party. And as the renegade Mexicans were, in a number of cases, armed with rifles, the odds against Bud and his chums were increased. True, the Greasers were not good marksmen, but a rifle in the hands of even a poor shooter is often more than a match for a .45 revolver in the hands of an expert. ”

“ When they are found upon the body, the only safe way is to be perfectly motionless, and not disturb them, and they will often crawl harmlessly away; but should the person move or excite them, they will sink their deadly claws and run across the person rapidly, and beyond all remedy the flesh will rot to the bone in a short time. I once saw the effect of a sting. We were one sunny day sitting with some greasers upon the shady side of an adobe house near Santa Fe, when a large centipede dropped from the roof of the house down upon the naked breast of one of them. ”

“ The greasers were over there on the siding in their cars, and they just let go at ’em with their guns. Now and then they’d hit the station, for fun, you know. I guess maybe you can see the holes yet.”
The young man pointed up at some scars among the shingles and a broken window in the upper story. “Sure enough they left their marks!”
“What did they do to ’em?” Brainard asked naïvely, as they returned to the car when the conductor droned “all aboard.”
“Who?” the stranger asked. “The police?” ”

“ Strange to say, the greasers were so nervous at finding no barricade between them, or were such contemptible marksmen, that not a shot took serious effect; only the demijohn of aguardiente was shivered into a thousand pieces, and the liquor ran out into the grass. The filibusters jumped up astounded and disordered; but, seeing so much good liquor running away wastefully into the grass, they grew terrible. It was an insult and injury which both men and officers appreciated. It gave every man in the troop a personal quarrel with the enemy. ”

“ They even load their hair as much as possible, drawing it out into a series of little twists, and dressing them so copiously with grease and sibilo, that at a few yards they look as if their heads were covered with a cap composed of metallic tags, and at a greater distance as if they were wearing bands of polished steel on their heads.
They consider a plentiful smearing of grease and red ochre to be the very acme of a fashionable toilet, and think that washing the body is a disgusting custom. ”

“ When the horse is carefully tended after his work is over, and his legs quickly and completely dried, the less hair he has about them the better, for then both the skin and the hair can be made perfectly dry before evaporation begins, or proceeds so far as to deprive the legs of their heat. Grease is the child of negligence and mismanagement. ”

“ They allow no women in their deer-hunting expeditions. They smear their leggins and hair with red ochre and grease. The men part their hair in the middle and separate it into locks, which, when properly dressed, look like rolls of red mud about the size of a finger; one bunch of locks is secured in a mass which falls down the neck, by a band of dentalium shells, and two smaller rolls hang down either side of the face. After being soaked in 132 grease and tied, the head is powdered with finely cut swan's down, which adheres to the greasy hair. ”

“ Then they carefully rub the grease and fat all over their hands and face, and feel splendid afterwards.
The women have long hair, made dark by the [15] smoke and grease. The men have long hair, also, and a thin, scattering beard over the face, which they never shave or trim, because they have no razor or shears.
We had no church or court house, no school or factory, no doctor, lawyer or merchant, no money, jewelry or timepiece, not an axe, spade or hammer, no knife, fork or spoon, no bread, no cloth, no wood! I never saw as much wood in my country as would make one little match. ”

“ The hide having been still kept damp and soft by being covered with cattle dung, or moist clay, is next taken in hand by half a dozen or more natives, who, sitting around it and grasping each their handful of the edge, compress and rub it in every possible direction, ever and anon driving all their hands together towards the centre, and then simultaneously falling back, stretching the skin to the utmost. Grease has to be applied occasionally, and the skin, when put away for the night, must be carefully rolled up and kept under moist earth till morning. ”

“ With grease upon their faces, filling their long black hair, shining upon their hands, and smeared upon their bodies, they are as disgusting a race as can be found upon the globe; and after a brief survey of their huts and habits, men of a cleanly nature never desire to see them more. Their limbs bear about as great a proportion to their bodies as the stem of a pipe to the bowl ”

“ Click for a larger image.
[Pg 69]
world that gathereth most grease within and that is because of the long sleeping that he sleepeth. And his grease bears medicine as does that of the fox, and yet more, and men say that if a child that hath never worn shoes is first shod with those made of the skin of the grey that child will heal a horse of farcy if he should ride upon him, but thereof I make no affirmation. His flesh is not to eat, neither is that of the fox nor of the wolf. ”

“ A dog and a wolf who were very great friends set up house together, and agreed to share equally any food they might obtain. One day they managed to steal a barrel of grease from the house of a countryman who lived close by, and having no immediate need of it, they decided to put it away until the winter, when they might be glad of anything they could get to appease their hunger. So the barrel of grease was carefully hidden away in the cellar. ”

“ Judging from the signs, the crafty old grisly, as cunning as he was ferocious, usually lay in wait for the cattle when they came down to water, choosing some thicket of dense underbrush and twisted cottonwoods, through which they had to pass before reaching the sand banks on the river's brink. ”

“ Sometimes one of the women, and sometimes another, cleans me of my grease. The day before, Rosanna had taken out a spot for me on the lappet of my coat, with a new composition, warranted to remove anything. The grease was gone, but there was a little dull place left on the nap of the cloth where the grease had been. The girl pointed to that place, and shook her head.
“The stain is taken off,” she said. “But the place shows, Mr. Betteredge—the place shows!”
A remark which takes a man unawares by means of his own coat is not an easy remark to answer. ”

“ A mother will tell her daughter that it is a shame for a woman to have upper front teeth. She should be like the cow.
They are all very fond of grease for their bodies, either animal fat or butter; and in this hot, dry climate this is not so objectionable, if they use it in moderation, by simply oiling the body to prevent the skin from cracking. Many of the women, however, use the grease to excess. They grind red ochre and, mixing it with the grease, paint their bodies, including their hair, red, which is their idea of beauty. ”