Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-04-27

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IN CAMP ON CASES GRAHDES RIVER,
LnRTHFRN Ca1HIr HIrA March 8 1880

IN CAMP ON CASES GRAHDES RIVER, ?
NORTHERN CHIHUAHUA, March s, 1889. J
The first letter Of an expedition is liable
TO be prosaic to the point of dizziness. 1t is
full of promises that are expected to be
realized, for as yet nothing has been done.
Not one-tenth of these may formulate, and
yet the expedition may be success in IN
expected results, for In no undertakings in
the world is there so much uncertainty as
In those of travel through little known
countries. Then, again, the correspondent is
likely to think that he is called upon to give
a lengthy description of the party IN the
preliminary letter, and as | have often seen,
even descend to an enumeration Of the
qualities of the cook or the color OF the
mules. The next night the cook may desert
and the mules run away so that others have
TO be procured, and therefore are of no more
interest to the reader than any other of the
millions of mules or cooks that would make
any correspondent wealthy if he could find
q newspaper that would publish his de-
scription of them. intend to break away
from that stereotyped formula for the first
letter and briefly state that am in the field
of Northern Mexico, hoping to obtain some
new ana interesting matter beyond the
everlasting descriptions that are now
pumped up for the public by versatile
writers along the beaten lines of tourist
travel as determined by the railroads and
occasionally the diligence lines.
l have a good outfit of wagons, horses,
mules, and, last but not least, men for that
purpose, and each and every several men,
Der will be heard from when they have
done something AID not before. Whom the
mule 'Dulce'' kicks a hactare of daylight
through the cook for spilling hot grease on
L. 7 \ s,Fn
and an obituary notice of the cook, but until
then they will remain out of the account.
We crossed the boundary south OF Dem
ing few days ago and entered Mexican
territory, where our labors can be said to
begin. II one will take the pains to look at
map Of this portion of Mexico they will
see that it projects into the United States
some distance beyond the average northern
boundary, the Rio Grande river being TO our
east and an ''offset," as we would say, in
surveying, being to our west, this s'offset"
running north and south. This fat PENN
sula projecting into our own country can be
better understood by visiting 1t and COM
pairing il with the surrounding land of the
United States, coupled with history of the
country. The MexIcan-Unite States boun-
dairy as settled by the Mexican war rough
" speaking followed the line Of the South
ern Pacific railroad as now constructed,
and the so-called Gsdsdeu purchase from
Mexico of few years later fixed the
boundary as we now see it, giving US mar
row sabulous strip of Mexican territory, but
adefnite boundary easily fixed by surveys.
The Mexicans were on the ground and
knew Just what they were doing when they
arranged for selling us this narrow strip,
while as usual we did every thing from
Washington and knew just about as little
concerning il as we possibly could, and be
sure that we were purchasing q part of
Mexico and not slde-wheel steamer. The
Mexlcans ran this fat-topped peninsula
far 10 the north, enclosing lakes, rivers and
springs, and water inuumerable, while as
generous compensation they gave US more
land 10 the west to make amends for il, but
q land where 8 coyote carries three days
rstions of jerlled jack-rab6it whenever he
makes I'D his mind to cross it, There is no
more comparing the of set of Mexico that
projects into the United States here with
the of set from the United States that pro-
iects into Mexico west Of here than there is
comparing the fertile plains OF Iowa or Hi
nos with Greenland or the Great Sahara
Desert. Every one familiar with the ex-
ceedingly rich lands Of the southwest
where SO much of it is worthless for the