El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-06-11

of arms Now the SpaniardS and the
Indians have Joined and are making
common cause against the republic of
Mexico. with the prospects of conduct
ing one of the most disastrous and eX-
pensive wars the republic has ever faced
in such a small area
Isolated, Hot Country.
The Campeche-Yucatan country is iso-
lated and it is hot. BY its isolation it
is difficult for the Mexican troops to
reach it in the first place, and owing
TO the tropical nature of its growth and
the mias1natic condition Of its climate
it is deadly to the unacclimated- For
this reason the warning tribesmen and
their Spanish leaders have the advant-
age over the troops. In many regions
where the Indians live in as much ex-
clusiveness as when COrtez first sailed
into Mexico, it is impossible to pene-
frate the region without frSt cutting
away the brush.
Americans on timber inspection trips
through Campeche and Yucatan have
Travelled but six and seven miles day
and their guides had TO cut their way
with machettes through the under
brush Trails run through the noun
famous and swampy sections of the
country, and in places there are even
roads for pack trains and wagons, but
no railroad has ever penetrated the
fastness of Campeche and only a few
short lines have been built in Yucatan.
these near the coast
Country Wilderness.
The only city Of Importance in the
state of Campeche is the capital, Cam
peche, on the coast, where ships con-
stantly load the cocoa bean, bananas,
coffee and other products of the trop-
les, gathered from the large haciendas
along the coast and back a few miles
from the coast, only as far back as 1t
will pay to transport the product on
burros to the shipping point. The in
terror of the country is a wilderness
and the MayaS have lived for centuries
undisputed. Even since the Mexican
rule has prevailed. there are regions IN
both Campeche and Yucatan where no
law is known except the tribal laws If
the Indians. From their strongholds
they have been enabled TO make forays
at will upon the farms and plantations
closer to the sea, and have suffered but
little when the troops gave pursuit, be-
cause they could regain safety in the
wilderness of the tropics or in the
mountain fastness and attack the troops
from their concealed positions
1t became so the words Yucaten and
Campeche had a terror for the Next
can soldier for, if 1t did not mean death
from the tropical climate, it meant
possible death from the Mayas- Sta
ton in these two territories became
still most distasteful when the Mexican
government adopted the policy or
sentencing offenders to service in the
army in "the caIiente country" and for
a number of years past, q great many
of the soldiers on duty were criminals.
This did not form much of a fighting
army in the first place, and with the
men sick from fevers and terrorized at
the lurking enemy in the iungles, the
campaign has been one that did not do
much to establish the sovereignty of
Mexico.
Soldiers Fail to Maintain Peace.
Even the Mexican ranchers have not
depended to any great extent upon the
troopers and the Spaniards have had
utterly no faith in the soldiers. AS
result. as in Sonora where the Yaquis
have been warning, every large ranch
owner has a fortified blockhouse at his
headquarters and armed guards are
kept constantly on duty. A hacienda
of any size any distance from a town,
has one of these forts and men are
kept in constant readiness to repel an
attack. This has been successful in
many instances in the past for the In
dams have fought in small bands, but
by capable men, 1T is different and the
ranchers and their employees are report
ed as fleeing to the coast for protec-
ton, such as the Mexican government
can offer; it is poor even in the sea-
port towns if the Indians desired to
press them, at least until the troops are
rushed to the scene from interior Mex
leo. This is now being done, but the
fear of the fever terrorizes them and
Of Mill fal
field half heartedly and these viii have
great difficulty owing TO inability to
get sufficient commissary supplies over
the roads with them Unless they can
subsist on the tropical fruits and the
game and cattle they can kill en- route,
it Is said that it will be impossible to
keep an army in the interior long a
time
Afraid Of Pirates Once.
While Yucatan is not so isolated as
Campeche, having railroad connection
with several cities and towns in the
interior, the army there is in the same
condition as in Campeche- Yucatan for
merIy suffered from the pirates in the
days when Spanish buccaneers sailed the
seas and the capital of the state is at
Merida, several miles inland from Pro-
greso, the nearest seaport. 1t is con-
nected by rail with the seaport and
the line continues inland for a consid
cradle distance, but back on the Guate-
malan border, safe from the Guatema-
lans because of the inaccessible noun
tains, the Mayas hold the country at
their mercy. And it is in this locality
that the Mexicans are now in greatest
danger, for here there are more settle
mentS and more Mexican inhabitants.
It is possible to transport tropical
products at a profit just a certain dis
lance on mule back to transportation
With the railroads running back into
Yucatan, the settlers have gone fur
Their back, whereas in Campeche they
have only settled along the coast. Still,
with all the settlements in the former
state, there is a great deal of wild coun-
try and many of the Indians live practi
cally among the settlers, while to the
southwest of the settlers, the country
is as wild as in Campeche- 1t is here
that the Indians really have their
stronghold; it is here that the remains
of the cities of their ancestors testify
to the advancement they had made be-