The morning call., 1892-01-18

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poor brutes have to live on nobody knows.
In fact, they do not live very enthusiast
lcally. Carcasses Of straved creatures could
De seen on either sides of the railway for
miles, and here and there little punches Of
those Just ready to drop. and with not
enough 10 be scared away by the locomotive,
lined the ditch beside The track Ii is a pitt
tul spectacle, this panorama Of starvation.
As you get nearer u the Rio Grande the
PROJECT Is even more dismal Land so fne
that 1t forms IN clouds OF dust and fills the
air. dense thlckets of mesquite, black ebony,
retama, nOpal cactus and other forms OF
tEUTny vegetation make the foot traveller or
mounted trooper even stand aghaSt There
is no brush OF any kind here that is not
niIve with thOrns. From the humble
prickIy pear 10 the more pIetentiOus ebony
tree, all ale covered win th0rns. One can
not travel leo yards 10 this dense growth
without blazing the way with FIRE or AK
lae few trails that exist are so hidden that
none but practical guides can lind them.
As Tor forage, there Is none. When a Mex
lean TauCnerJ IS rot too iaZy-NhIch is very
Seid1M-Ee will feed pTickly pear TO his
starving animals, but for the most part they
must shift for them selves. The pricklv
pear plant Is prepared for feeding by burn
lng OF the millions Of little thoTns, bu. rs
this required INST the cutting of the plant
that means more work than most MeXlcans
VII. ever consent 10 DO. There has been
almost q continuous drought here for a
period Of three years. Down in Duval
County and Starr County where GaGZa's
few followers are hiding aud lodging the
troops, there las not been drop If rain for
more than eighteen months. The cattle
and sheep upon which the semI-degraded
louuiati0n depend are dying and the con-
dIiiOn OF the whole people is dpplOrabIe
No wonder they are ripe for revolution
or ANYTHING else. 1t must be remembered
that the deSoiate region Of the lower
Rl0 Grande IS occupied By a very
motley throng Of humanity. Al are of
Mexican or Indian ancestry Occasionally
there are found the descendants Of some
American outlaw, or some American fugl-
tive from fuTSulng Sheriff but for the
creator part the population is made UP OF
the gnOrant Mexican peasantTY. Though
nOmInally Americans, they are apparently
unconscious Of The fact that they live within
our boundaries and under our laws. For
the most part they are beclouded in ignO-
rance and saturated with superstition. 1t
Is doubtful II Stanley, Ia Africa, ever found
much more benlghted people. In thought
habit speech and dress they are az thor
Oughly un-AmeTican as they can be. In
respect Tor law or race or government
they are Just rs anti Mexican. They are
"agln the Government" -"agin" every Gov
eminent they hate DiaZ as cordially as
they Getest Los GringOs." Their SUPER
=
little confidence or faith in priests, but they
believe IN weird lncantati0ns, cures by
magic. 'eVll eye" and all forms of sOrcerY
and wiichcraft, some Of which nave been
handed down from the middle ages. Their
women are virtu0us as a rule. but the men
are natural thieves. They drink in the
science Of successful DEMONSTRATING with
their mothers milk. All the land is held in
immense tracts. Some Of the ranches num-
Der tens Of thousands Of acres. 1t must be
that way, for the only salvation Of the
peOple is in herds and fOcks, and these
need wide ranges 1t is calculated that it
takes twenty acres to support one animal,
even in seasons when the drought is not
excessive.
The soil, however, is very fertile; II it
could only have water the Rio Grande Val
ley could be made garden spot Such
variety of choice things can be grown as TO
be almost bewldeTing. On the few spots
that are cultivated by intelligent effort are
grown in greatest profusion cotton. sugar,
vegetables all the year round, corn and
every fruit known to the semi-trOpies.
Bananas, pOmegranates, oranges, lemons,
figs, dates flourish here in all their glory.
Bat alas there Is neither intelligence. en-
ergy nor money to cultivate the soil. Moth
ing can be done without water, and the
people are too poor To drive wells or erect
wnd-mills. The Rio Graude itself is q huge
volume Of water in a tortuOus channel II
has been called by some one the Nile Of
America, but that is rather a misnOmer. If
the country which 1T passes through
were datter and subject to over
flow the name might apply. 1t
is a muddy, sluggish stream, with
a pretty deep channel. Boats Of 100 tons
Laredo, but practical navigation ends at
Roma, some miles below. From Laredo to
Brownsville the river is very crooked, and
especially so between Carrie and Hidalgo,
where steamboat men claim that for every
mile Of land there are four miles Of water.
Between Fort Rnggold and Roma 1t Is four
teen miles by land, but sixty miles by the
course Of the river. The banks of the Rio
Grande are mainly steep bluffs of clay, fri
able sandstone or gravel. and are generally
from 80 to $50 feet high. They are easily
washed out or erOded by the action Of wa
ter and wind, and so the whole river banks
are filled with rsvines or "barrancas"
which are impossible to man or any other
beast but goat.
The population of the lower Rio Grande
Valley is very scanty, there being on the
American side Ouy the towns of Carrie,
Roma, Rio Grande City and Edinburgh in
the go miles from Laredo TO Brownsville,
although the ranches of Lopeno, PanenO,
Salinen0. Ranenos Nuevo, La Grulla,
Havana and Santa Maria are really small
villages and may be properly classed as
such.
On the Mexican side are towns of more
pretensOns Guerrero, Mier, CamargO and
Reynosa, which are Of good size, but now
dead or torpid and needing the touch of the
railroad to awaken them to new life.
SO long as there are no railroads in this
section trouble may be looked for unless
strong gaTrisnns be maintained on both
sides OF the Rio Grande at the most eligible
points. But with the completion of the
Mexican side of the railroad from Mata-
moras via Camargo, Mier and Ceralbo to
Monterey and from Monterey TO Ximenes
or San Juan on the Monterey and Gulf Rail-
road through Ceralbo and Aqualeguas to
Guerrero all trouble to the Mexican Govern
ment would cease at once. The distances
are very short and the links described
could be constructed in less than six weeks.
Connection would then be made with Amer
lean lines aad this valley, instead OF being
source of annoyance and expense to both
nations, would bloom like a flower garden