Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-07-28
WANDERING ISLANDS.
Those Of the Rio Grande Made Trouble
For Us With Mexico.

For Us With Mexico.
The wandering islands Of the Rio
Grande in their migrations Nrom side
to side of the water course have caused
years Of diplomatic correspondence and
discussion between the United States
and Mexico. The refusal Of certain
small bodies Of land to remain perma-
neEtly attached to one or the other Of
the rivers banks deprived them Of a
fixed legal status us either Mexican or
American territory and brought about
their participation in many illegal ad-'
ventures. which In turn led to misun-
derstandings between the two coun-
tries.
In no river il spirit more evident
than in the Rio Grande. Along its
sinuous route below Rio Grande City
it pushes its way through miles OF
level sand In its dnal reach for the
gulf. twisting and doubling upon itself
like a sea serpent In l84S It was nx-
ed upon as the boundary line between
the United States and Mexico. The
boundary was to be the middle Of tho
river, following the deepest channel"
But the river possessed character1stics
that bad not impressed themselves
upon the trainers Of the convention "A
possible causes a friction between the
people living along It's hnnks. In ad.
dition to its eroding power. exercised
through long months Of low and mean
water, It could during oOod periods
leap with torrential fogce across q
narrow neck Of land At the base Of one
Of its long loops ana cot for Itself q
new channel. Through such avuIsive
action Of the river Texas coll would
sometimes become Mexican. and on &C.
casions plantation Occupied BY jacass
and Mexican citizens would overnight
and itself a part Of Texas.
An example Will serve to show both
the extraordinary actions Of the river
and the difficulties tn the way Of any
satisfactory adjustment Of conflicting
interests A certain Josiah Turner BE-
gan to farm the Galveston ranch. on
the Texas bank. Eight years later he
was surprised when 221 acres Of Mexi.
can land came across the river and at
tached itself to his ranch. An arrange
ment was effected by which he became
the owner Of this land. Six years later
the river cut OF a piece Of Mr.. Tur-
ner's land and took It to Mexico. TWEEN
ty-one years later the river made up its
mind to repay the farmer for what It
had taken from him and 90 carried
back into Texas a piece Of land fur
larger than the tract originally lost.
The Mexican owners claimed posses
sion. and a new convention dealing
with the questions under dispute be-
came necessary.
Brigadier General Arson Mills. U.
8. A.. appointed to represent the United
States. recommended that the "cutoffs"
be forever eliminated from the bound.
airy line, all those occurring on the
right Of the river to pass to the juris-
diction Of Mexico. those on the left to
that of Texas. The inhabitants. II any.
should retain their citizenship In the
country from which they had been 90
suddenly and violently detached. or
they might acquire the nationality OF
the country to which they were now
attached. Any cutoff exceeding $50
acres in area and having a population
Of over 200 souls was not to b consid-
cred a banco, and the old bed Of the
river should remain the boundary. A
convention embodying bis recommends.
tons was finally ratified by both coun-
tries. Thus the great turbid. silt bear
ing river is left to pursue it, way I'M
trammeled. but the terrors 20 long syn
onymous with its name have through
the operation Of this equable arrange
ment become a part Of the stored, 10
mantle past