The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-29
THE. MEXICAN BORDER
How Both Sides of the Line Are
 Watched and Guarded.
UNCLE SAWS BRAVE RIDERS.

The Work That is Performed by Thsse
 We'll Mounted, We'll Armed and cour-
 aseous PatreIs-Ths Mexican RuraIes
 and Their Methods.
 If business or recreation should take you down to that long line which forms the boundary between the United States and Mexico, you may by chance meet . we'll mounted rider, armed with rife and pistols, pacing observantly along some bypath or canyon He Is one of the United States boundary riders ap- pointed by the treasury department to patrol the border on the lookout flor smuggiers, 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 no little physical endurance. for his auties may call him forth at all hours and seasons. and he may be responsi- ble for a 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 -iisssr to patrol a line of over l50 miles. and this is fn part 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 govsrnment main tains from fifteen to twenty rurales for the same work. it is a good Illus tration of the trust reposed i1 a single American citizen by his government It Is probable there Is no other man In the United States whom it would be harder to find at a 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 a venturesome band of cattle runners. or in some canyon of the noun tains on the lookout for a wagon load of prohibited immigrant Chinamen; but. wherever he is. one may be fairly sure it is not where the trlnsgressor 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 sthe former boundary rider in this dis strict. will aptly illustrate:
 For some time a band of cattle run tners had been working successfully fback and forth over the line tn spite of the boundary riders vigilance. They seemed to be able to divine his move ments, so that while he was watching a trail through the mountains they were rushing a bunch of cattle over the desert
 But at last he managed to surprise the band and, rife in hand drove two of them into Campo.
 Then. however. arose the question as Do the method of taking them down to the coast He hired a double seated vehicle. the only one in the place.
 But at once another question pre- scented itself. How was he to seat his prisoners. for either they must be placed together on the front or the back seat or separated. both seemingly n hazardous choice?
 He finally decided to separate them. and so. with one on the front seat with him and the other behind. he started ' for the coast
 The two cattle runners managed to communicate with each other by, signs and at a rough part of the road made the boundary rider. in turn, their prisoner. Needless to say. they then made the best of their opportunity to