The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-02-04
Copyright, 1913, by Frank G. Car
penter.)
LAREDO, Texas.

penter.)
LAREDO, Texas.
This is the first Of a series Of letters
which 1 shall write about our sister
country Of Mexico. I have come to
;hc boundary by the way of st. Louis
and San Antonio. and am now here at
Laredo. on the southern edge OF Uncle
SANS land. I had this afternoon the
peculiar experience of standing astride |
ahe two greatest Of the North Ameri-
can republics. I was in the center
Of the old wagon bridge which here
crosses the Rio Grande, and l had my
Seft foot and hand in the United
States, While my right foot was in
,Mexico. l know this was the fact, for
behind me was n of the boundary
costs which mark the outline between
ihe two countries. This was a steel
pyramid about a foot square at the
bottom and six feet in height. It.
gas plated with silver, and each side
Of it bore an inscription showing that
II marked the boundary line. The
carving on the side facing our oun
kry Was in English and that on the
opposite side in Spanish, but both
mean the same. The English inscrip-
zion reads:
boundary OF the United States.
Treaty Of 1S4S. R~e-established by
treaties Of 1SS4-1SS9."
Under these words is the following:
OBSTRUCTION or displacement of this
monument is q misd emeanOr. punt IN
able by the United States OK by Mex
.co."
The United States side Of the pyra-
mid is marked with the American
eagle and on the Mexican side is the
coat OF arms of Mexico. AS / stood
facing he west, with my right leg in
the United States and my left leg in
Mexico, I observed the left perceptibly
trembled. Perhaps it was for fear of
the revolution. which has been so long
going on on the southern side of the
bridge.
Our Boundary With Mexico.
| turned around and looked to the
west, my eye following the course OF
the Rio Grande as far as sight could
read. 1t is a ragged, muddy. dreary
stream, with banks which are ragged
and low. and bordered by vegetation
As coarse n thirsty as that Of the
jordan. The stream is not navigable,
and its chief business seems to be to
mark the boundaries between the two
countries and TO give a dreary and
dangerous task to some thousands 81
the United States soldiers.
The Rio Grande IS winding. From
here to the Gulf OF Mexico, it's course
on the map looks like the teeth Of
saw. and running northwest to T.
Paso 1t curves In and out and make:
great bends covering almost double
she lineal distance between those two
points. AT f. PasO the river leaves
Mexico and runs north into the United
States, and our boundary from Their
to the Pacific Is otherwise marked
The whole length Of the boundary
with it's many curves. roughly speak
NJ. Is quite as long as from New
York TO Salt Lake City, and this who'll
line, running through the most deser
regions OF the United States, is nov
Pstrolled by our troops.
Guarding the Rio G&ande.
ON my way here I stopped at Sa1
Antonio and had a talk with the Off
GERS in charge Of the post there. The
tell me that the river Is especially dill
fcult to guard. It flows through
desert, and when its waters are lON
II can be easily forded. All alon
it the Mexican rebels have been try
Ing to smuggle in arms and alnmu
milton. Boxes and crates, labele
agricultural machinery, filed wit
guns are dumped off at some way sta
ton along the railway, and the Mex!
can raiders steal over and try to brin
them across. The railways in mos
cases are quite a distance north {
h boundary and the troops ave I
watch The trails and water holes I
catch the ~brigands.
IN addition to this there are man
ranches not far from the river, t
which the MeXicans will come to ste;
horses. cattle and food. and a COZ
tinual outlook has to be kept for hui
dreds and thousands Of miles. TIL
is done with n small force. One ma
will patrol a line thirty or forty mil,
dong. and there are attachments
troops at every eighty or one hundre
miles.
The men live in little tents out
tho desert, and one of the gre.
troubles Is to get supplies to Their
Many of the camps are from fifty
n hundred miles from the railrOa
and II takes a wagon or pack ira
from ten days TO three weeks to NAL
Tho round trim Th ere Is y ctical