The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-04-07
THE COW BOYS OF THE RIO GRNDg.

passed from paradise TO GcleDDa. HaT
adise is in the valley of San Bernardo
30: Gehenna is on the Rio Grande. BE
tween the two lie the Desert of the Col
orado and the Plateau Of the Sierr
Madre. The night before we pas.ec
through Benson the stage coach from
i Tombstone had been stopped by tw'
cow boys, who murdered the drivr
ard ore OF the passengers. and then
being repulsed by Wells Fargo's armtc
messenger, fed IL the hills. On III,
following day they were tracked y,
the Sheriff OF the county, and HIM they
also murdered.
In this valley, as il courses through
New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and
chihuahua, are gathered the vIleSr
s~coundrels on earth. Their occupa
ton is robbery. and their every day
pas-time is murder. In NV Mexico
they are known as Holy T~errors;' IT.
Texas as COW BOYS. Every man is arm
ed t. the teeth with can bine. six shoot
tr, bowie knife. and double decked
belt Of cartridges around the waist. The
rest of the equipment consists Of a
horse and a pair Of Spanish spuls. The
calibre of the fire arms Is 40 "a curious
reason is assigned for this peculiarly
Cartridges OF all other calibres cost
five cents each in New Mexico. Cart
ridges of this calibre cost but one and
a half cents each because this is the
United States Army rife calIbre, and
the soldiers steal the cartridges from
the Government and sell them at this
price TO the robbers and mlrderers Of
the border.
A few weeks ago before the con
nection between the Southern Pacific
aud Atchison, railroads was made AT
Dcming, and when d stage coach ran
between the tsrmini of the respective
lines, this coach was stopped by the
cow BOYS who murdered several Of tue
passengers and plundered the remain
Ger. Later still they wrecked a pas
senger train near San Marcial. and still
later they murdered IA conductor at
Las Vegas. As for less notable assasS
nations, they occur every day. The
pay cars of the two railroad INES are
followed up, and the employees rob
bed as fast as they are paid off. When
other opportunities fail the working
ut Ia IhhCISICd ~ III "iilSAEN
dcns and dance houses kept by those
wretchcs, and there are done to death.
AS we approached Deming some OF
he villains entered the cars and bran
dished their revolver at the passengers,
but, fo~rtunely, chose rather To shoot
out Of the windows at the telegraph
poles than at US or one another. \ sin
ole word or a look WOULD have drawn
their murderous fire. During The
night we slept at Deming in II ufthc
yacaLt cars. they kept up a continuous
tusiiade under our windows, and, OF
course, rendered sleep impossible
was slain, we did not are to inquire
We were only too glad when day broke
and the trim, o on the AtchisOn,
Topeka and Santa Fe line, moved OUT
Of this hell on earth and began the
journey to the North.
Demiug lies where the Rio Miembres
is marked on the map, and near where,
in fact, the Miembres sinks into the
sand. The town consists Of a few
whiskey shops and dance houses built
of rough boards or canvas, a few houses
built by the railroad companies, either
as homesteads to secure land grants, or
for the convenience of their employees,
or for both purposes combined, and a
number Of freight and passenger cars.
Some Of the latter are used as offices
and sleeping rooms. As yet there Is
neither station house nor hotel. The
Adams Express Company have erected
a shanty near the track, and the sight
of their familiar sign board was the first
indication that we had come o the
terminus of an Eastern railroad !: for be
it known that the Adams Express Com
pany as yet have no agencies west otthe
desert. The Wells Fargo Company en-
joys the exclusive monopoly of this lG-
~crative business. The Adams people.
however, assured Us that they were
bound to get through this time, an as
surance that the Pacific coast will hear
with great satisfaction.
FROM Deming you proceed northeast
~ until you strike the Rio Grande a
the town OF Colorado. The river il
here crossed by a fine iron truss bridge.
Here there is much cultivation OF the
bottom lands, and for the first time
leaving California trees aud irriga
ton bitches and farming implements in
any considerable numbers are to be
seen. From Rincon, neal Colorado,
the Atchison r. r. forks southwest to
and southeast to Ell Paso del
Ofthis fork the entire distance
is gra led, but only seven miles laid with
At FL Paso the two lines are to
together again. This junction i
expected to be completed ty the lst OF
May. The Southern Pacific will then
continue on to New Orleans and the
Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe to the
city OF GuaYmas.
Colorado contains about 100 adobe
houses and probably 500 inhabitants.
The river is about 200 feet wide, and
and shallow, but it furnishes
good drinking water.
THE VALLEY OF DEATH.
With the river you leave all signs OF
cultivation behind. and again plunge
into the desert. Before you lies the
Jornada del Muerto, or the Journey Of
Why this part of the desert plateau
is SO called is difficult to imagine. 1t Is
no worse than the rest of the desert on
the contrary, the buffalo grass here
grows even thicker than in the vaunted
Of San Simon. As for water,
the distant mountain ranges were cap
ped with snow, and it hailed aud rained
as we passed up the valley. There
were no springs IN the vicinity, and Wa
ter can only be obtained, if at ali, By
artesian wells; but this is the
everywhere throughout southern
Arizona and New Mexico, except close
To the fnw riverS that Hnw hrnnn thoSa