Excerpt from Robert Gordon<br><br>WE desire to sav to you, before you read this work, that it is not all original, for a great part has been compiled from the best histories of Mexico, and also from the diary of my grandfather, who traveled over a large part of the territory which my hero travels. You will find that we have interwoven With these historical facts, fiction enough to give it the form of a story; thinking that by so doing, it will be more interesting. And believing that personal experience is always more attractive when related by the principal actor, we have assumed in this work, that he is giving a history of his own life.<br><br>But while you notice the acts of our hero, we wish you to look into the conditions of that country, one of the brightest portions of the American continent, rich in minerals, vegetation and natural resources; but a pauper in everything that makes a nation. Then see if you cannot find a parallel in the condition of every country where tyranny has ruled.<br><br>However this may be, if we can entertain, instruct, and make you better by what we have here written, we will have done all that we have attempted. J. E. B.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.