The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-02-04
SCENE OF EVERY DAY
As 1t Is When You Pass the
Rio Grande to Mexico.
CUSTOM HOUSE SHANTY
Victor Murdock'S Friends the
Same Old WiChitanS.

The first letter from Victor Murdoch,
who left last Sunday, accompanied by
Mrs Murdoch, to see Old Mexico. was
written from Ell Paso, and is as follows:
Ell Paso. Texas, Jan SO.-The Arkansas
IS three or four drops wetter than the
Rio Grande. On one side of the Rio
Grande is FL Paso. On the other is
CiudaU Juarez. AS you near Ell Paso on
the Santa Fe, you approach the conduc-
tor with respectful tinddity and ask him
where you can get your American money
changed for Mexican money. He tells
you, 'At the depot at FL Paso." You are
pretty well acquainted with the people an
your car before you near Ell Paso These
people will, the conductor having had his
say, volunteer information. You are told
TO be wary Of certain bank notes, that
they will be discounted, and that you
Should insist upon receiving notes of the
BancO Rationale. You are filed with a
vague alarm that you are up against an
other mans game. Here is your own
hard coin and greenbacks. silver certif-
Gates, which you are to place before a
total stranger, with his hard coin and
colored paper currency. You do not know
his language, the shape of his money or
its denominations You despair at once
of being anything more than d child in
his hands. and al his mercy. You know
he VIE short change you, but you
nestle down in the consoling hope that he
will not short change you much.
You crawl off the car at FL Paso and
30 to the ticket window. You ask with
assurance in your pronunciation: "How
much IS the sleeper fare to Zacetacas?"
The man al the window answers in plain
English, but with a soft, pleasing accent, |
which wins you so completely that short
changing as a theory, much less a fact
no longer exists: "Six dollars in Next |
can money"
Now you are VI to the proposition.
I'VE can change our money here?" we
ask, knowing, Of course, that we can.
Certainly. You get, for every Ameri- |
can mote that word dollar, two dollars |
and eight cents in Mexican money"
Hadn't we better get only part of our
money changed here and part in Face |
tacas? Can We get it changed at Face
tacas?"
"Oh. you can. but you better get it
changed here. We hear the rate of ex-
change will advance one per cent the
first of the month"
SO we take part of our green money /
and pass it over to him. He is gone a /
little while and then he comes back with /
beth fists stuffed with blue bills, red /
bills and pink bills. And for every bill
you pass him, he passes you back a bill !
twice yours in faal value and then a
whole lot Of silver besides.
OF course you have been expecting this
for days. but somehow this deluge of
money paralyzes you. The 80" on your
bill looks like the 30" on his; the notes
of both countries are of size. The
Mexican peso is as big as our American
dollar and as bright. You chuck notes
down in one pocket. pour silver into the
other. shake yourself to make 'em set
tie and then go three inches taller and
feel like you was just being paid a
big profit for living. OF course you know
the money will not go as far as your
money that prices viii advance TO knock
the stuffing out of your purse. but still
the moneys money and you have doubled
it. SO far as the Arabic notation goes and
you feel gay. I didn't take the trouble
10 find out what rate of exchange he
charged. When you get out on the plat
form at E. Paso again, if you are from
Wichita. you will come upon the beam
Ing face Of Sam Mountain. Sam has
been away from Wichita three years: he