The National tribune., 1903-08-27

Win canyon running cream through W
the Rio Grande, and the depth of which
is from 200 feet upwards. with sides as
steeply perpendicular as those of n street.
1t is a natural barrier. boundary and d.
vding line, and in the old Indian fighting
days played Il great part. At first 1t made
n secure protection for raiding, numbering
Coma inches and Apaches, for if they could
once get across it by passes and fords
known only to themselves. they were as
safe from pursuit as though hundreds OF
miles interviewed. They could show them
selves boldly to the baffled pursuers on
the opposite bank, only few hundred
yards away. and make perfectly under
stood and highly offensive remarks to the
raging soldiers. OF course orr men soon
got OH to the passes of the Pecos, and then
they several times ''hived" the redskins in
its impossible bends with such success
that the virtual determination of the once
terrible COmancheS soon came to pass.
The railroad crosses the PeeOs River by
one of the greatest bridges in the world,
spanning the canyon 81 feet above the
surface of the river, or higher than the
dome of the Capitol at Washington.
One of the diversions of the trip is to
throw a bottle from the observation ear,
and watch for it to strike the water. 1t
seems to take minutes to reach the blue,
pure, springfield stream, that lies like
web of siik-so straight and clean-cut its
edges-between the lofty walls on either
side.
I always had genius for remembering
very bad poetry, and I remember reading
in poor novel entitled Frank Ormsly,"
this atrocious doggerel:
Here's to Gen. Wolfe, the bold grenadier,
Who fought at Quebec without the least
fear.
And what was strange as well as partic-
ular,
He climbed those rocks which are quite
perpendicuiat.
There can be nothing about Quebec quite
as perpendicular as the sides of the Pecos
Canyon, or the battle Of the Plains of
Abraham never could have been fought.
LAW WEST OF THE PECos.
AT the station just beyond the bridge is
building with conspicuous sign Roy
Bean. Law West of the Pecos." About
this dispenser of frontier justice no end
of funny stories have been told. Roy
Bean was a rough, ignorant pioneer, keep
er of the usual style of frontier dOggeries,
and not more scrupulous than many of
them. But he drew the line-as men do
at more fragrant crimes, felt murder,
highway robbery, cattle stealing, etc,
clothed with some legal authority, and
proceeded to administer whatever law was
then executed on that side of the Great
Canyon. He knew no mode of law than
necessity is said to; but there was a neces-
sity for some kind of law, and Roy Bean
furnished the best he had. He really did
a great deal of good, in his earnest, blum
dering way, but as the country filled up
and the new settlers brought in ideas from
older communities, Roy Bean and his
methods became staple jokes Of the coun-
try.
He has not suffered this to faze him,
though he occasionally writes to some
particularly funny newspaper man as to
what he will do to him, ard his sign is a
landmark for which the tourist watches
eagerly.
DIVIDING TEXAS.
As the Pecos, which is so marked fea-
ture of the country, has been mentioned in
connection with some of the propositions
for dividing Texas, it may be apropos to
consider that subject little.
AS is well-known, Texas is much larger
than either the great Republic of France,
or the great Empires of Germany or
Austro- Hungary. Each of these has but
little over 100000 square miles, while
Texas has 273,00O square miles, or sub
stantially one-third more than those cOun-
tries with their from 40, OOO, 900 to 55,OOO,-
600 population each.
At San Antonio there came upon the
train Mr.. Burgess, very bright, capable
young lawyer of Ell Paso, and whose
friends are always looking forward con-
fidently to his sitting in the Governors
chair and the United States Senate within
few years.
- 81 ,@f
a movement looking toward an ultimate
division of the State.
mo, sir" he said emphatically. THE
reverse, rather, is the case. The people
are rather growing prouder of their State
and more anxious to keep it as whole.
They are proud of the history of Texas
the Independent Republic, the Alamo, San
Jacinto, and the heroism Of Texans dur
ing the civil war. These things are taught
in the schools, and preached from the
stump, and every man is proud Of being a
Texan. No matter how good and how
popular man might be, he would sound
his political death knell if he favored di-
vision Of the State. l have Fever ceased
to be mad at our having lost even so small
portion as Green County"
But as the State fills up will there not
be q conflict of interests among people
scattered over so wide an area, and en-
gagged in such different pursuits! One part
of your State is devoted to cotton and rice;
another to oil and still another to grazing
and mining. These would seem rather
Incompatible"
"All the same they are getting along
well together and will continue to do so.
Their differences are minor; there agree
ments are major. We are already the
fourth State in population, and are very
proud of that. We shall be proportionate,
ly prouder when we are the first State in
population as well as territory"
But will you be content to have only
two Senators, the same as Nevada and
Delaware"
Eyes, indeed; for then we shall have AZ
Representatives in the House, and can
make our power felt there. No, sir; you
can rest assured there never will be n Gi,
vision of the State. We propose to be big
enough to swing the whole United States
as we want to. That is the ambition OF
every Texan"
This would seem fatal to the suggestion
to cut off Texas on the line OF the Pecos
and make up mining State out of that
! and portions of Arizona and New Mexico
| Then, too, Arizona and New Mexico eacl
want to be States, with their present boun
da ries. Some Arizonians on the train ex
pressed themselves very decidedly against
any incorporation with New Mexico
where they said politics were hopeiessly
rotten owing to the large Mexican element