El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-22
THE ROMANCE OF THE
GREAT SOUTHWEST.
4 Letter From Mrs. Kate Hunt Grad
dock. Well Known Here. Touching
Deming and Vicinity.

FL PaSo. March IA. 1901
Howard w. Peak. Chairman Press
Committee. T. p. A. Fort Worth.
Texas.
| am nov folding my tent and shall
soon depart, via the T. & p. railway for
Terrell. East or west, names best"
according to the Scottish %proverb, (and
my experience) but to even the casual
| observer. this fiourishing city of the
great southwest is a superb sample, of
the promised land-either as Mann
mon sees it through his golden glass
es. or the multitudinous invalid who
hies himself hitherward in quest of
health. Climatic hunting for its cura-
tive value is often a necessity. some
times a fad but climate. says Hum
bolt constant only in its incon-
Stancy"- presents in these regions a be-
wildering variety of features.
At Deming. my headquarters for the
past month. $500 feet above sea-level.
the February sun lay upon the town
and valley like a benediction; while
across the desert to the south. a snow
storm was visibly raging for hours in
the mountains. A picnic party had
gathered. flowers and ferns there only
a few days previous. Deming has a
marvelously clear and sunbathed at
mosphere and abundance of pure soft
water. which taken together. makes a
paradise of climatic healing for con-
sumptives and others of kindred
troubles. This little city of wind mills
nestles in the valley of the Mimbres
river. 81 miles west of Ell Paso and is
considered the Riviera of the great
southwest. but where is the river?'
| asked. We drove out to see it. and.
to my intense surprise beheld only
serpentine shadows of drifting sands
not a visible drop of water.
THE river" explained my hostess.
lis under the town and the nj
able wind mills you see are pumping
the crystal flood up into our homes and
public fountains. John Chinaman's
greening garden. over there by the Ca
naigre factory. is a sample of what
irrigation does for our Sahara. this des-
ert that stretches for leagues about
u.s." "Canaigre?" l echo. what is
"A factory for disti1ling fannie
acid from the canaigre root. a tuber
(quite like the sweet potato) that is in
digenous to the desert" Deming has
the only canaigre factory in the world.
imperative at present. because the
scarcity of the plant. and the reduc-
ton of prices on inferior chemical pro-
ducts for tanning. has rendered the
factory Improbable. The root is being
assiduonsly cultivated by Mr.. Allaire.
the owner and the business will be
resumed when the cultivated supply
car be relied upon for his demands.
This interesting country always pre-
sents to the inquiring mind the ever
moOted question of antique American
civilization. and among other horns
of the dilemma. the most fascinating to
me. is Plato's Atlantis. that huge is
land now submerged, which might have
O. rafnhaI from tho chnrac of Afr;.a q.
the eastern borders of our great con-
tinent. Are We not the very cradle of
civilization. whence it passed over to
China. and. latterly. to Europe. via this
way? 1t is a question of deep interest
to every curious and intelligent OBJ
server of his species: yet it is the rid
die of the Sphinx. which no Oedipus
has had the ingenuity to solve. Ira
dition sometimes pierces the dark
shadows with a ray of light. and on
tradition. analogy. similarity of Ian
guages and dialects. it depends. Yet
where there is most doubt there is
often most dogmatism. and Hudibras
comes near enough the mark for all
practical purposes. perhaps. when he
speaks of antiquity
Whose primitive tradition reaches
AS far as Adams first green breaches"
II either Bouturini or Belzoni (those
noted collectors of %antiques) can get
closer to the origin of the subject il
would indeed require an Oedipus to
determine just how.
But to conclude-As I have of late
often strolled at sunset and fingered
to witness nightfall upon the desert.
to see the stars come out. and watch
the consultations emerge to their fixed
places in the armament. with a long