ATDTDA Ewball Oust quick review, non-demurrer on the usefulness of his words

[Michael Bailey]

374: "Ewball was a young fellow from Lake County, on the way down
to the Veta Madre.  The family, rolling in Leadville money, had agreed to remit
him two hundred dollars a month, American not pesos, to stay down there
and try to get by on his skills in mine engineering.  If he survived the
drinking water and the bandits, why, he might be allowed someday to
return to the States, even to enjoy some marginal future in Business."

- so, not exactly representing the Family, then.
In fact, kind of a calcite-double of Frank, in a way:
mining engineer in exile.

Yet, hmmm, Empresas Oustianas, S.A. (p 376) - not as
estranged from the familia as he may have painted himself
to Frank if they actually own the concern he's exiled to.

a third reflection comes to mind: el atildado, Gunther von
Quassel, also on family business in Mexico.

In fact, it's interesting how the diaspora of the Traverse family
follows the trails of colonialism.  It's like, as america assumes the
mantle of empire and flings its mesh of control over the world,
also caught up in the web and posted around the world are
american nationals with different philosophies, different remits so-to-say...

just as in addition to Kurtz, there may have been British colonial
administrators who were idealists and ran their stations as fairly
as William Pynchon treated with the Indians...

...anyroad, Ewball indicates himself as a "footsoldier" (921) -
if you think of it, whether he's an idealist true believer in
Mexican Revolution, or a neo-colonialist determined to
hold onto family property in a foreign land, he approaches
the necessity of dealing with armies and politics from one
angle or another either way...

Occam's Razor, or the old "cui bono" I just am inclined
to think that his real interests are with Empresas Oustianas, S.A.,
and his words to Frank, tailored to the audience.

Nonetheless, they are savvy words.