davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

fancy and hope quickening the pulsing of
heart and bosoms.
My train then entered the magnificent
gloom and sensible density of the Taiga
forests, an immense region covered with
the stately Russian birch and graceful
Siberian cedar. The country was wild-
ness personifed and was haunted by the
trapper and gold seeker. To the south of
me lay the gold mines and extensive
placed deposits which bid fair to soon rem
der the locality one of the leading gold
producing centres of the world, and to my
north stretched the region from which
come the famous Russian furs of the bear,
the martin, the fox, the 'ermine. the otter
and other denizens of the wild In this
district lies Tomsk, the capital of Siberia.
but strange to say. the civil engineers
passed 1t by in laying out the great Trans
siberian railway and one has 10 reach it
by branch line 46 miles In length. l,
of course, did not take the time to make
the detour necessary to visit the city.
was more than pleased when l ex-
changed the gloom of the forest for tire
glad smiling bright sunshine of the open
Siberian steppes. For a thousand miles
| traversed a country of undulating mead
ows. winding rivers wild flowers, of gor-
geous bloom and gigantic growth nutri-
tious grass. immense herds of cattle and
innumerable dairy farms.
Coal fields are here abundant. and
though the running water is sweet and
potable, the ar.esian wells often produce
nothing but bitter or salt water and wells
frequently change from sweet to salt
Wild strawberries grow in profusion and
they are offered for sale at the stations
by the children and women. Never have
l tasted fruit approaching these berries
in flavor save the similar berry found in
Brazil.
While Tomsk is the capital of Siberia,
Omsk is the largest and commercially
the most important city of the country
II is in the centre of the Steppes, is sit
uated upon the Irish. branch of the
Obi river. and has population consider
ably over 10000 souls.
To fully appreciate the Importance OF
OTsk one must remember that as the
centre of river transportation of western
Siberia it dominates the trade of 1900
miles of waterways. The area OF the Obi
watershed more than doubles that of Den
mark France. Germany and Italy COM
bined, its fleet comprises nearly 800 stean,-
ers and canal connects it with the
Yenisei river AMI its tributaries.
The activity and life which greeted ne
at the great railway station of Omsk was
characteristic OF that OF our metropolitan
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

hope behind hut as gazed at it cou
but think that in bad weather It was be
ter, for the time at least, to be on Il
inside looking out than one of those e
posed guards perched upon those hazar
Gus seats ON the outside looking in. b
here one notes tho irony of fate for VIII
was once a spot of horror and misery
now resting place for immigrants. F@
million home seekers have passed throus
its gates and the city has provided +
their comfort by the erection of mai
barracks, hospitals, laundries. baths al
summer camps. indeed, so capacious a
these institutions that in winter time %
Immigrants can be housed and made cor
Portable therein while over 1000 may
ministered to when the summer camps a
in operation.
From here began my ascent. as 1 st
moved westward, of the low crested Ur
mountains, my highest elevation beiI
less than 1000 feet. These mountains mai
the boundary line between Asia and r.
rope and upon their apex is planted
white marble pyramid which has be'
pathetically named the monument
Tears. " 1T is the gateway of the exi
and he who PASSED st was counted
dead. but from being a pinacle of d
spair it has Jeen transformed into
thole of hope and to the immigrant it
now stepping stone upon the long jou
ney of hope and 4 new life.
Hence l was in the malachite count
from the mines of which come the par1
colored rocks ont OF which urns. vase
tables and prineely gifts are fashion,
and the natives Aocked around the tra
at every station offering for sale pret
souvenirs of the precious stuff. For mo-
than a week nal been tied to a mothe1
apron string. and when l reached Mosc1
I parted regretfuliy from the ikon- studeI
girdle OF Granny Earth.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

/ would say, however. that these
cases are extraordinary. Railroad ira
vel In Mexico is undoubtedly more
dangerous Just now than in the past,
and hold-ups in certain districts are
common. / understand, however, that
many of the roads have been running
their trains uninterruptedly during the
past year. and 1 hope to travel over
the greater part of the Mexican re-
public without being robbed. I shall
start south to Monterey tomorrow, and
will write of conditions and other
things as find them.
Fortunes in Onions
Before leaving Uncle Sans country.
however, l want to give you some of
the big stories the Texans are pouring
into my ears. They say their state is
Jonah. Right here In Laredo they have
proved to my satisfaction that they
are making fortunes in onions. Five
years ago the laad surrounding the
town was practically a desert, and 1t
could be bought for from s1.50 to SO
per acre. Now you have to cover It
with greenbacks to get It. There are
already more than 10000 acres under
cultivation, and much of this is in
garden patches, devoted to onions
which in quality surpass those of Ber
muda. The Laredo onion is as white as
snow and exceedingly tender. 1t is Of
ten as big as the head of a baby.
Last year $500 carloads were shipped
away from Laredo. and this represent
ed value of between $4,000, 900 and
s3,000.00o. These onions go to our
northern markets.
A year or so ago one of the big
onion raisers decided to experiment
with red pepper. The result was much
the same as that expressed in the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

years or more. Last summer he asked
is employer If he might have a vacation
to pick cotton, and, this being granted.
ht left. He took his family with him,
and when he came back at the end of
three months he showed savings of $3.50.
He then took up his old job at S15 a
month and will work at that until the
his money to buy lot at Brownsville,
and his next years savings will build
him a house.
A Walk Into Mexico
1t cost me Just one nickel to get into
the Mexican republic. This was the toll
over the wagon bridge which crosses the
Rio Grande into Nuevo Laredo. / was
stopped on the Mexican side by three
officials and asked If had any guns or
other ammunition, and in returning one
of our customs officers asked me If I had
any dutiable goods in my clothes.
The difference IN the prosperity of the
two republics was apparent as soon as 1
left the bridge. The first man met was
blind beggar who asked me tor aims,
and / met more poor people as / came UP
into the town and went through the mar
row, unpaved streets. Laredo. Tex, is
a city of the rich. Many of it's people
have money to burn, and they are raising
fold dollars On the lands which lie all
around them The people of Nuevo Larc-
do seem to be just the reverse, although
they are surrounded by country equally
good. The town is gone to seed, and its
houses of brick, covered with stucco and
painted all the coiors of the rainbow, are
battered and worn. The only sign of ac-
tive life was in the plaza, whore gaiiy
uniformed band was playing excellent mu-
sic. 1 saw soldiers here and there, and
now and then passed one of the federal
infantry patrolling the streets.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02
The Rio Grande at Laredo

| understand that there is need of the
federal and local police just now almost
everywhere. The unsettled conditions as
regards the government have made the
thieves and other criminals more coura-
geous than they have been in the past.
Brigandage is common in many districts,
and travel in the mountains is almost ev-
erywhere unsafe. There are many thefts,
and crime, which could be kept In check
when the country was quiet, now goes on
unpunished.
AS an instance of this the other night
a rich Mexican, the owner of large ha-
oienda, was standing on the steps of a
Pullman car. He was something of a
Candy, and wore a beautiful sombrero,
embroidered with silver and loaded with
a heavy silver cord. Such a hat is worth
S25 or more The train had stopped at a
wayside station, and the man was stand
ing look out toward the east. smoking a
cigarette. 1t vas evening, and the cleo
tric lights on the car made bright the sill
yer trimmings Of the sombraro. They
caught the eye of a peon, who was sneak
ing up on the westward side Of the train
and he, climbing the steps, stabbed the
man In the back, sDatched the sombrero
and got away before he could be appre-
Eended. The American who saw this tells
me the stabbed man died.
have been warned by several trave-
lers to keep the curtains of my berth down
when riding at night over the Mexican
railroads, and when I asked why the re-
ply was that several rocks had been
thrown into the cars aimed at travellers
who sat by the windows. One such tray
eier was sleeping. The stone scattered
the pieces of glass all over him, and cut
a cash or so In his face. His eyes were
saved by the fact that he was sleeping
when the stone came.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

Vladivostok is distinctly a military
town and in this respect reminded me OF
Potsdam. One here sees nothing but
soldiers, and if those who prate of Rus
s,a's despotism and tyranny could only
hear the stirring martial songs of pa
ttiotism. the anthems of loyalty to the
Little Father and devotion to the
raother country which make the streets OF
the city resonant they would marvel at
the environment or admit their error. The
city has a population of some $4,000 souls,
possesses many business buildings of the
latest modern type and Is famous for ITS
wonderful dry dock which is marvel
of engineering skill. Its picturesqueness
consists in its numberless green domed
churches, but it is still in a transitory
Stage. At certain seasons it's streets are
almost impossible and Siberian ponies
urag rude vehicles through swanps of
mud wellnigh axle deep.
In entering Manchuria I was again
made sensible of the adage that too far
east is west" for while l have never
been a great distance beyond the Missis-
sippi river | felt from what l have heard
Oh my western country that | was
uaversing the region which lies between
u e fdlner OF waters ana tHe ttoShy
mountains. Its vast praries, its extended
al cas- of virginia. forests, its gigantic
mineral tracts of incalculable value and
its unadorned farmhouses were all decid-
edly western. while Harbin bore close
semhlances to thriving frontier Amer
lean city.
Then ] caught interesting glimpses OF
weird Bouriat camps and noted that the
women We're as expert at riding unruiy
rnrses as were the men. In crossing =
srlall corner of the Cobb desert, with ITS
occasional shrubs and stunted trees, the
desert region of the Rocky mountain was
again recalled and in fact the only feat
urc not occidental was the long trains OF
oamels loaded with burdens of tea, which
The patient animals were bringing m
their plodding way from out the winding
trails which connect the remote tea farms
OF the interior with the ports OF snip
ment
Through the Ingoda valley saw IN
Vulnerable lumber camps, timber rafts
pioneer cabins, forest clearings, fields OF
newly broken farms lands, small herds OF
cattle and growing crops. all typical OF
early agricultural life in Nebraska, Mon-
tana and the Dakotas.
an along the route are little square
block houses for the accommodation or
the railway and track attendants, and at
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02
COLONEL BREWER
of United States Cavalry
at Fort Clark. Laredo. Tex.

me that the authorities at Washington
had kept his party waiting for two weeks
At Nuevo Laredo and that he could not
learn when they were likely to leave. L
photographed four of these Hindoos. They
were fine loking fellows, all wearing
turbans and Indian dress, and 1t seemed
to me as though they might have been
lifted up bodily out of the streets of Delhi
sEd dropped down into this Mexican
town.
The Only Gateway to Mexico
During a part of the past year this
crossing of the Rio Grande at Laredo
has been the only gateway to Mexico.
Vera Cruz was closed by the revolution
of Diaz, and Ell Paso had a long period
of interrupted traffics on account of the
rebels of Chihuahua and other parts of
northern Mexico. The bridge at this point.
has been poorly guarded, and l am told
that the rebels with a few sticks of
dynamite might have blown II to pieces.
Lnclo Sam has a fort here under the
command of Colonel Brewer. The force
consists of about 600 cavalry, who nave
recently come from the Philippines. they
aie husky fine looking fellows, and are
ready to move at moments notice. In
case OF trouble their first work would
be to seize and guard the railway bridge
Mexicans In the United States
/ am surprised at the Mexicans 1 find
down here on the United States side OF
the boundary. The trains coming in are
packed with poems or Indians, who are
coming into Texas to work on the farms.
| am told that something like $1,000 came
irto the United States last summer and
fall to aid in harvesting the cotton and
other crops. Thirty thousand came by
way of Laredo. and more than 1900 by
way of Brownsville. These men were
scattered all over Texas, and they got
good wages during the harvesting season.
Many of them have returned home loaded
with money The current wages for farm
work in Mexico are something like 70
cents gold a day, but here in Texas the
Price for picking cotton is from so cents
upward per 100 pounds. Many man can
pick 200, 300 or 100 pounds in day, and
these Mexicans, with their families, often
make from So to IS day, ana some even
more. They spend almost nothing, and
as a result are able to go back home
with enough money to keep them for the
lest of the year. The Texans are glad to
lave them, and 1 am told that there they
are employed by the hundreds on certain
estates
In addition to this there are many
Mexicans who have come over to act as
servants in the towns of southern Texas
/ heard of one who. with his family, was
SC employed in Brownsville His wages
were about $15 gold month. and he had
served the family at these wages for two
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

and when its waters are low 1t can be
easily forded All along 1t the Mexican
rebels have been trying to smuggle in
arms and ammunition. Boxes and crates,
labeled agricultural machinery, filed
with guns are dumped off at same way
station along the railway, and the Mex
lean raiders steal over and try to bring
them across The railways in most
cases are quite a distance north of the
boundary and the troops have to watch
the trails and water holes to catch the
brigands
In addition to this there are many
ranches not far from the river, to which
the Mexicans will come to steal horses,
cattle and food, and a continual outlook
has to be kept for hundreds and thous-
ands of miles. This Is done with
small force. One man will patrol line
80 or 40 miles long, and there are
detachments of troop at eevry 80 or 100
miles.
The men live In little tents out in tho
desert and one OF the great troubles is
to get supplies to them. Many of the
camps are from so to 100 miles from
the railroad, and 1t takes a wagon or
pack train from 10 days to three weeks
to make the round trip. There is prac-
tical]y no food in the country. and the
men have to live on dried meats, canned
stuff and hardtack. They boil and filter
the water of the country. and all are
inoculated for typhoid fever before
starting. The country is so arid that
the only trails can be from water hole
to water hole, and much of the work
Is watching these water holes.
Keeping Out the Smugglers
Another job which Uncle Sam has all
along this boundary is the prevention Of
smuggling, and also the keeping out the
Chinese, Hindoos and others who are
trying to sneak across into the United
States contrary to our exclusion laws.
Within the last two or three years many
Chinese have been smuggled across, at
the rate of $500 per man, this being
the price paid by each Celestial for his
successful landing. 1t is different now.
The government has a band of mounted
scouts, who are under the department
of commerce and labor, and whose only
business is to run down and capture
such characters. One of these men, Tom
Gunley, has taken GA Cinnamon within
less than year and in addition has
captured large number of smugglers.
The Chinese are still attempting to
cross over, and they are now offering
as much as thousand dollars apiece
for successful landing.
Right here at Laredo | met a large
rarity of TIndoos who We're trying to get
INTO our country They were on the
southern side of the bridge, in the plaza
which forms the center of the Mexican
town of Nuevo Laredo. They were tall,
dark faced. strong, husky East Indians,
and the chief was a turbaned Hindoo
from Punjab.
l asked him where they were going,
and he told me he had brought the gang
of 43 with him from the Panama canal.
They had Travelled first to Guatemala, and
had come by the Pan-American railway
from there into Mexico They had gone
cIear across that country to Laredo, and
are now hoping TO go through Texas to
California to find work on the farms and
railroads there. The chief complained to
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02
atchng the smuggers Hndoss Trying Get Into United States


copyright, 1913, by Frank G. carpenter.)
Laredo, Texas.
TNHIs is the first of series of letters
which I shall write about our sis
i ter country of Mexico. have come
to the boundary by the way of st. Louis
and San Antonio, and am now here at
Laredo. on the southern edge of Uncle
Sans land. had this afternoon the pc
auliar experience cf standing astride the
two greatest of the North American re-
publics. / was in the center of the old
wagon bridge which here crosses the Rio
Grande. and / had my left foot and hand
in the United States, while my right foot
was in Mexico. know this was the fact,
for behind me was one of the boundary
posts which mark the outline between
the two countries- This was IA steel py-
ramid about foot square at the bottom
and six feet in height 1t was plated with
silver. and each eide of 1t bore an inscrip-
ton showing that II marked the boundary
line. The carving on the side facing our
country was in English and that on the
opposite side IN Spanish, but both mean
the same. The English inscription reads:
Boundary of the United States. Treaty
of 1s4S. Re-established by treaties of 1851
1882
Under these words is the following:
OBSTRUCTION or displacement of this
monument is a uiisdemeanor. punishable
by the United States or by Mexico"
The United States side of the pyramid
is marked with the American eagle and
on the Mexican side is the coat of arms
of Mexico. AS l stood facing the west,
with my right leg in the United States
and my left leg In Mexico, I observed the
left perceptibly trembled. Perhaps IL 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 lookeds to the
west, my eye following the course of
the Rio Grande as far as sight could
reach. 1t is a ragged, muddy, dreary
stream, with banks which are ragged
and low, and bordered by vegetation as
coarse and thirsty as that of the Jor-
dan. The stream Is not navigable, and
its chief business seems to be to mark
the boundaries between the two coun-
tries and to give a dreary and dan
gerous task to some thousands of the
United States soldiers.
The Rio Grande is winding. From
here to the Gulf of Mexico, its course
on the map looks like the teeth of a
saw, and running northwest to Ell Paso
II curves in and out and makes great
bends covering almost double the lineal
distance between those two points. At
FL Paso the river leaves Mexico and
runs north into the United States, and
our boundary from there to the Pacific
Is otherwise marked. The whole length
of the boundary, with its many curves,
roughly speaking, is quite as long as
from New York to Salt Lake City, and
this whole line, running through the
most desert regions of the United
States. is now patrolled by our troops.
Guarding the Rio Grande
On my way here l stopped at San An
tonic and had talk with the officers
in charge of the post there They tell
me that the river is especially difficult
to guard. 1t flows through desert
The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02

American terminals. Gorgeousiy capari-
soned military OFFICERS, brilliantly be-
dizened train and station officials. and
we'll groomed citizens mingled and strug-
gled through throngs of peasants, emil
grants and attendants of every nationali-
ty and station ir life. They swarmed.
they stalked they even slept. The men
carried the heavy hags and kitchen uten-
sils and the women lugged the spinning
wheels and the babies. Both shared the
ubiquitous samovar which is as much a
part of Russian as a pipe is of Dutcn-
man. High boots and sheep skin gar
ments were in evidence everywhere and
Russian, Tartar. CossHck and koKstro-
man mingling in one heterogeneous mass.
1t was brilliant, it was picturesque. II
was dirty.
| still had 500 miles to cover before
reaching the Ural mountains. SO j did
not tarry In Omsk. but moved on.
l soon entered the Baraba steepe ard
| felt as though / were in a vertable Ar
cadia For miles and miles passed long
hedges of white lilacs1 and the air was
heavy with their stephanotic fragrance.
l caught glimpses of the desultory tents
of the Khirgis, nerds of ponies dotted the
long stretches OF purple heather and even
the camel was still present in great NUM-
bers. In this section of country there
are 6.0Oo,000 sheep. 100000 cattle, as many
horses and a quarter of a million camels
The latter beast in the Orient is like the
horse with us; neither railroads nor mod
ern vehicles can retire the one nor cleo
trio cars and automobiles relegate the
other.
Baraba is a land of meat and butter
The first goes 70 St. Petersburg, the lat
ter to Germany and Great Britain. Dairy
farming is conducted with the most mod
ern methods and the machinery is of the
latest pattern. The butter is of the finest
quality and 65d00 tons of it are annually
shipped out of the county.
At last [ reached the western extremity
Of Siberia proper. | was at Cheliabinsk,
a city resting at The eastern foot of the
Ural mountains. and the place where the
great Trans Siberian railway bifurcate'
one line. running to st. Petersburg and
the other to MOSCOW In former times the
exiles to Siberia We're here distributed.
and here | had my first view OF a prison
car. II resembled Jail upon wheels
with its metal casing, its barred windows
and thirdly -boitet doors. Upon each side
at the rear end OF the van was a little
iron seat for the occupancy of the guard
1t was a gruesome vehicle and might hay
been tagged who enters here leaves all