Evening star., 1901-05-11
.s.1I
Ell Paso, Texas, and d Juarez, Mexico,
Are Very Interesting.
SEPARATED By @ Rio GRANDE
In the Midst Of a Desert, Yet
Citizens Seem Happy.
SOME OF THEIR PASTIMES
cial From a Staff Correspondent.

Special From Staff Correspondent
TUCSON, Ariz., May g. 1901.
The wild scenes viewed by some of the
members of the presidential party in Ell
Paso and across the river in Mexico yes
terday, Sunday will make an interesting
chapter in the history of this long whirl
of the Chief Executive across the continent.
Ell Paso was the last stop in Texas. In
many respects 1t Is the strangest city on
the American continent. Taking it and
Juarez together they make an odd combi-
nation. In either of these cities. separated
only by the Rio Grande, are to be found
side by side the hustling, ever-energetic
American and the shiftless, dirty Mexican
These widely divergent races live in the
center of an immense desert, where often
not more than a shower falls within two
years.
On every side of these two cities are
bleak, towering mountains, rising from the
plains in long ranges, but in gigantic peaks
Their sides are almost as bare as the
streets Of Washington. A species Of stunt
ed pine is all the vegetation the arid soil
will produce. Not a living thing thrives
upon these Notwithstanding mounds of
earth. Even the birds passing over the
desert avoid stopping upon their inhospta-
BILE sides. The man who has not visited
this section of the country knows nothing
of the efforts that are necessary to main
tain life. Ell PaSo Is near the center of the
great desert, covering portions of Texas
Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and Califor-
mia. This desert country extends 600 miles
east of Ell Paso. 800 miles south into Mex
leo and for many hundreds of miles west
through New Mexico Arizona and Cali
fornia. In part of the Texas portion cattle
are grown and only suffer materially in un-
usually dry years. For 300 miles every
side Of Ell Paso, however, a rain is an
known thing for months at time. Yet
people live here and seem contented and
happy. In Ell Paso there Is population of
$4,000, half of them being Mexicans Over
the Rio Grande, in Juarez, there are 5000
Mexicans living. They cannot be said ex-
actly to live. as that would be eXag-
geration of the real facts. They barely
list. Both in FL Paso and Juarez their pow
erty is evident. With little adobe hut
sometimes rot as tall his wife or HIM
self. dog and several game chickens. the
Mexican seems happy. If dirt brings hap
piness he ought to be supreme in his con-
tentment.
Anent the Rio Grande.
The great Rio Grande. which separates
these two towns, begins way up in Colo
RADIO, flows south through New Mexico and
passes through Ell Paso a paltry stream,
not containing half as much water as the
Eastern branch of: the Potomac at Bladens-
burg. Sometimes there is no stream at all,
and the Mexican children walk across the
sands of the bottom of the river 1t is not
until the Rio Grande gets hundreds of
miles below here that it becomes river
worthy of the name.9 The Mexican and
American peace commissioners must have
been very shy Of material when they Sc
lected such a stream for a dividing line
between two great countries.
AS the members of the presidential party
rode across. the little low bridge over the
river Sunday they saw a muddy stream
flowing southwark The people explained
that this water came, from the melting
SHOWS in the mountains of New Mexico and
Colorado, and that later on there would be
practically no stream at ALL. Twenty miles
or above hA PasD the Rio Grande has a
much larger volume than it has here.
The water sinks and enters a stratum of
gypsum rock. and reappears many miles
below Ell Paso. 1t Is said that the millions
of gallons used in the irrigation bitches
around Ell Paso has no effect on the river
and has nothing to do with the water dis
appearing. These irrigation bitches fur
| nish the only means of tiing the soil the
| people In this great desert have.
The Indians are said to have used irriga-
| ton bitches to produce vegetation. The
Mexicans and Americans have improved on
| the methods. and the presidential train
| rolled along on its way to Ell Paso and
away toward the west the immense useful
| ness OF this means of producing vegetable