Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1908-02-12

and Their Methods.
III business or recreation should take
you down to that long line which forms
the boundary between the United States
ana Mexico, you may by chance meet
we'll mounted rider. armed with rifle
and pistols, pacing observaDtiy along
some oypath or canyon he is one OF
the United States boundary riders APP
pointed by the treasury department to
patrol the border on the lookout for
smugglers, cattle runners and other
persons whose presence on the Amer
lean side is generally undesirable.
For this position the man selected
must possess courage. judgment and
DO little physical endurance. for his
duties may call him forth at all hours
and seasons. aud be may be response
BILE for stretch Of border land many
miles in length.
For example. between San Diego. on
the Pacific coast OF California. and
Yuma. In Arizona. there is but one
boundary rider to patrol a line Of over
100 miles, and this Is i'm par; over
sparsely settled mountainous region
and partly through the waste OF the
Colorado desert
As opposite him, on the other side OF
the line. the Mexican government main
tains from fifteen to- twenty rurales
for the same work. Il is a good illus.
tration OF the trust repoSed in a single
American citizen by his government
1t Is probable there IS no other man
In the United States whom II would
be harder TO find Of given moment
than the boundary rider OF the San
DIego-Yuma district
He may be down on the Colorado
desert. watching near some water
holes for n venturesome band OF cattle
runners. or in some canyon Of the noun
/ tains on the lookout for q wagon load
/ OF prohibited Immigrant Cinnamon;
but, wherever he is one may be fairly
| sure IL is not where the transCressor OF
the customs laws expect him To be
That he must possess both judgment
and courage the following incident.
which took place during the career Of
the former boundary rider in this dis
trict, VIII aptly illustrate.
For some time band Of cattle run
ners had been working successfullv
back and forth over the line in spite OF
the boundary riders vigilance They
seemed 70 be able to divine his move.
ments, so that while he was watching
a trail through the mountains they
were rushing n bunch OF cattle over
the desert.
But AT last he managed 70 surprise
the band and, rife In hand. drove two
OF them into Campo.
Then, however, arose the question as
to the method OF taking them down &
the coast. BE hired n double seated
vehicle, the only one in the place.
But at once another question pre-
sented Itself. How was he to seat hi:
prisoners. for either they must .,
placed together on the front or 10,
back seat or separated. both seemlngl,
a hazardous choice?
He finally decided 10 separate them
and so. with one on the front seat witt
him and the other behind. he starte,
: for the coast
The two cattle runners managed 7,
communicate with each other bv sign
and at q rough part OF the road mad
; the boundary rider. in turn. thei
, prisoner Needless 70 say. they the,
made the best of their opportunity Il
escape over the border. but as they fel
into the hands OF the unsympatheti
rurales they would have been bette
OF II they had submitted 70 the law o
their own country.
This brings one OF the somewhat dit
ferent methods pursued bv the Nlexi
can government in guarding their sid
OF the border. From q curSory iuspec
ton OF the line one might suppose tha
the Mexican side Is not guarded AZ al
You may cross the line ten times q
different places and never set eyes q,
a rurale. but II is we'll known that vo,
have done so nevertheless. and on III
eleventh excursion you are likely {
md yourself surrounded by q plctur
! esQue group. who Will carry you OF Z
jail II your explanation Is not salts
. factory.
, AS a rule. the ruraleS patrol bacl
and forth IN detachments at distanc
Of from ten 10 fifteen miles from III
actual border. Many a headlong dasI
! for the American side has been mad
by perfectly law abiding citizens. Wit
the rurales at their heels. because the,
have been needless IN obtaining per
mission TO cross the border.
True, an American citizen may eros
the border at VIII. as far as he himsel
IS concerned, but as he is almost Ger
tain 10 carry some article liable 10 dut,
il is upon that charge that he may b.
. arrested.-Michael White in Youth
} Companion.