Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-02-25


perience Those who do make the
trip are always enthusiastic, and de-,
sire to come again at the first oppor-
tunity.
The large majority of the persons
going to California go directly through
without stopping over at the various
points of interest enroute The writer
determined to see the country as he
came along, and for this reason spent
day in Kansas City, two days in 81
Paso, Texas, and two days in Tucson,
Arizona. While the Golden State Linn
tied OF the Rock Island railway is the
train par excellence for the through
trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, for
those who wish to stop over enroute,
the Mexico and California express of
the same company, which carries
through Pullman sleepers from Chica-
go to Los Angeles, in connection with
the Sunset Limited train of the South
ern Pacific railway, forms the most de-
sirable train to take. Leaving Kansas
City in the evening, a journeysof two
nights and one day brings the tourist
to FL Paso, the distance between these
two points being about one thousand
miles.
FL Paso, Texas.
81 Paso, Texas, is great surprise
to the average tourist. Here is city
of over 10000 people, and more push
ing, thriving and enterprising CONNER
cial city is not to be found in the great
southwest. When one expresses sur
prise at the large business done at
this point, the resident Of Ell Paso re-
plies:
3Well. you see we haven't any COM
petition within six hundred miles; we
are the commercial metropolis of a
country as big as an empire; we are
the gateway to Mexico and have sew
en- trunk lines of railway; we have
an opportunity to do business, and we
are doing it.. In addition to our spe-
cial advantages as a commercial cen
ter, we nave the finest winter climate
in the United States, and the people
are fast finding it out. While you may
be disposed to doubt it, but people
actually come all the way from Cali
fornia to Ell Paso just to enjoy our
superb climate. (This is a pretty big
story that will probably need confirm
alton before being accepted as the
whole truth.) Our city has doubled in
population in three years, and is grow
ing faster today than any other city
west of the Mississippi river"
Certain it is that Ell Paso has fine
business blocks, good streets, many
beautiful homes and an air of pros
perity that is quickly recognized as
genuine. Its railway and wholesale in
terests are. very large and there is To-
Gated here one of the largest smelters
in the country, where thousands of
tons of ore from Mexico New Mexico
and Arizona are daily reduced to shin
ing gold, silver and copper ingots.
Just across the Rio Grande river,
which here forms the border line be.
/ tween the United States and Mexico
is the old Mexican city of Juarez, (pro.
nounced as though spelt Warez.) This
is a place of about 5000 people, con.
sisting entirely of adobe houses and
business blocks, with not over two
or three buildings in the town more
than one story high. Here one gets
a view of genuine old Mexico, with
the peculiar homes, habits, stores and
shops of the Mexican people, not tc
speak of their laziness and inactivity
and the prevailing habit of sitting in
the sun for hours at a time, apparent
ly without thought or care in the
world; indeed for genuine, unadulter
ated laziness, the average Mexican
seems to take the cake When l ask
ed of business man, "How do these
people live?" He shrugged his should
ers and said: ooh, they don't want
much and they live almost entirely
upon beans; man will go out and
bring in a dollars worth of wood, sell
the wood, convert the dollar into
/ beans, and then live in comfort for two
or three weeks, until it becomes neces
sary to bring in another load Of wood
in order to lay in another supply Of
beans" These people are generally
quiet and inoffensive, their natural
laziness and inactivity tending tc
keep them from indulging in fights
and neighborhood brawls. Americans
say that they will pilfer if there is ar
opportunity and that it is therefore
necessary to keep things well under
lock and key, but as class they are
considered inoffensive and the men dc
practically all the manual labor in this
country Many of them reside on the
American side of the river and arc
said to make very good laborers, il
they are we'll bossed and closely
watched. Street cars connect the two
cities, crossing the river on bridges
at either end of which are located, Gus
tom officers, who inspect the packages
carried by the passengers on each cal
(. and who make inquiry of each passen
ger as to whether or not they have
anything with them which is subjec
to duty In the Mexican town o.
Juarez is an interesting old mission
church which was established by the
Spanish missionaries before 1900
1t is said that the old pictures, statues
and the carved wood in the ceiling ant
4 affairs of this church came from SPAR
and were carried overland across the
desert, by the early missionaries OF
the backs Of burros. Juarez, though
on the American border is distinct.
Mexican and there is located here ;
large bull ring in which the Mexican
national sport CT bull fighting can b.
| witnessed every Sunday afternoon
The people go regularly ito church il
1 tho noorninp and then thosa who oar