Connecticut western news., 1876-02-18
ON THE RIO GRANDE.

Vne SEr1p Ot country that the Mex1cans R0I
 of Cattle--An Interesting Description.
 Capt. McNally, the commander of tho
 Texas State troops enlisted to prevent
 depredations from the Mexican frontier
 gives the following interesting account
 of the country:
 "A strip of countryabout twenty miles
 wide on each side of the river is covered l with what is called in Mexico 'chapar-
 ral.' It is thicket of tropical or semi
 tropical shrubs, which, on account o1
 it's density and the immense thorns with
 which is thickly covered, is literally i'm
 penetrable except where trails have
 been cut through it. hardly know how
 l can convey to you definite idea of it's
 character, but you may judge something
 of the difficulties of campaigning in
 such country when tell you that, al- though two trails may extend almost parallel with each other and not more than fifty yards apart, still it is often necessary to travel as far as seven or eight miles in order to find apoint where it is possible to pass from one to anoth- CT. It is like thicket of enormous thistles fifteen feet high, with the thorns hard and woody and as large as your finger. It is almost impossible to get one's way through it. The best corps of sappers and miners that I ever saw would hardly advance one hundred yards day through this chaparral. Along the river banks there has been constructed a road, but the river is so crooked that this trail does not follow ali of its bends, so that, while at times it touches the brink of the river, at others it will be from half a mileto mile away. This road itself as it extends through the chaparral is far from being straight, so that it is rarely possible when riding along 1t to see any object more than a few hundred yards ahead. E.
 !" Extending at right angles from the general course of the river through the chaparral, are trails ten or twelve miles apart, and sometimes at shorter inter- | vads. These extend out into the open prairie, and are the only means of com munication between the grazing lands and the river. The Mexican raiders rarely cross the Rio Grande in force. They meet at some point on the Mexican side and agree to reassemble several days later at some rancho or river on the American side, each one driving in the cattle which in the, meantime he may have stolen. Having arranged their plans, they cross the river in squads of two or three, or five in each, at different points, and pass on through the chapar- ral from 100 to 15O miles into the in- terior of Texas. Each squad selects from the herds in the section assigned to it the best cattle, and at the appoint ed time proceeds to the redezvous agreed upon. The cattle are then all placed in one herd, and, everything be- 1nr Iv
 rapidly as possible. Generally the raid CTS reach the river, or are very near to it, before anything is learned of their movements by those in command of troops and then, owing to the charac- scribed, and the rapidity with which the can be overtaken. With my men I have often arrived on the bank of the river after 8 long chase and seen the Mexi- cans encamped on the other side with the cattle in their possession. They are very saucy, and sometimes challenge us in very insulting way to come over and get the stock, knowing very well that we cannot do it."
 "You remarked that these cattle thieves penetrate from 100 to 15O miles into Texas" said a reporter; s'is it not dangerous for them to venture so far away from the river?"
 There is very little danger" he re- piled. "These depredations have been going on so long that nearly all the cattle in Texas which formerly grazed on belt of country from fifty to one hundred miles wide, and bounded by the | river, have been stolen and the ranches destroyed. That belt of country, three | hundred or four hundred miles long, is almost destitute of population. The | settlers have almost no means of com munication with each other, and even if | 1t was known that band of Mexicans | was about to make raid, it would gen. erally be impossible to get together a | sufficient force of Texans to make any determined resistance. Besides this, | the Texan rancheros do not dare to make | any resistance, or even to give informa- hon when they have been robbed.
 From my description of the charac- | ter of the country you will see how diff 1 cult 1t IS to intercept band of Mexi- | cans, even when information of one of | these incursions has been obtained. On | one occasion I informed the comman- dant of the United States troops that | raid in force was to be made at or about | a certain date, and that the cattle would | be driven across the river at given | point. He stationed two companies of cavalry in the chaparral at short dis tance apart, deployed men on either slde, in order to intercept the party as 1t passed. But the Mexicans passed be- tween the two companies without be- ing discovered until they had nearly | reached the river. Then the soldiers l followed them, and Arrived just in time to see them drive the cattle out on the other side. A few shots were exchanged, | and the M xicans were obliged to aban- don few of the cattle that were mired | in the mud, but escaped with most of them"
 Are these Mexicans good fighters ?" asked.
 Yes, sir,' was the reply, "they will stand killing as we'll as any people I ever saw. If any one expects to gain much glory in fighting superior numbers of these Mexican raiders, he will be very much mistaken. It is fact that the Mexicans of the interior are not very good soldiers, but after four years ser vice in the Confederate army, and most of the time at the front, where I had an opportunity to know what good fight ing was. am prepared to say that these border Mexicans are about as formidable adversarie5 as ever saw."
 When dealer asked lad, who came with, a haakot and uopko1 %l,roo oa-,&., |