The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-11-04
A TRIP FROM OAKLAND
To OLD MEXICO.
An Inter eSting Sketch of the Trip Made
bysMr. f. A. Thayer and Son.
To the Editor Of The Republican:

count of our recent journey to the
southwest, viz: New Mexico, Texas and
across the border into Old Mexico.
Ny father and l left Oakland On
Number So, Friday, October 8. and
went as far as Cincinnati on the B. G.
o. R. R. From that city we travelled
over the B. & o. S. W. to St, Louis,
arriving there at o'clock Saturday
night. Three hours later we left for
Kansas City, Mo-, via the Wabash K.
R.; the balance of the "trip was made
over the A. 7. & S. F., and we reached
| Carlsbad, New Mexico, on Monday at
P. NJ, Mountain time, or 6 P. M.
Eastern time. From Kansas City on,
we saw very little water and less tim
Der, although for while the land SEEM
ed to be rich and fertile, but the country
through which we passed on Monday
was sun-baked and uninviting. The
air was wonderfully clear and we could
see for miles in every direction, there
being nothing to obstruct the view. |
noticed a far distant mountain looming
up ahead Of US and thinking that | was
making a very wild guess inquired if it
was as much as fifty miles away, when
to my great surprise | was informed
that it was at least one hundred and
fifty miles away! As we drew nearer
our destination the weather became
warmer and warmer, and when we
stepped off the train it was to find mid
summer heat.
| Carlsbad Is pretty town of 5000 in
habltants, has an elevation of about
5000 feet, and IN general effect remind
ed me of a southern Maryland town. 1t
is perfectly level, has concrete side
walks, wide road ways. and many fine
shade trees, none of the latter, how
ever, being natural growth, as that
section of country has no timber at all.
The buildings are low, many consisting
of only one story, while | did not see
any which were more than two stories
in height. The town derives its name
from the similarity of mineral spring
there to the one in Carlsbad, Germany.
Several days after our arrival we
visited the ranch of my late uncle,
| Walter E. Thayer, which is 40 miles
from town, and contains about three
hundred square miles. The scenery
along the road was beautiful beyond de-
scription. Great bare cliffs lowered
hundreds of feet above US; at times our
road was mere trail along the side of
precipice. Some of the rocks were
bright red in color. The ranch itself is
very favorably situated in the Guada-
oupe Mountains, and at an elevation of
more than 1000 feet. We spent two or
three very enjoyable days there, riding
through rocky passes, climbing rugged
bluffs, and exploring the fastness of
the mountains. There are many
mountain peaks in the state which are
from 1900 to 1900 feet in height
The most interesting incident of our
trip was journey into old Mexico.
which we made in company with nv
cousin, Miss Eula Thayer. To get
there we had to go to Ell Paso, Texas,
by rail, distance of 800 miles. Having
reached that place we joined a party of
tourists, hired a sightseeing car, and
started for the Land of Revolutions
The Rio Grande separates FL Paso and
Juarez, Mexico, the latter place being
our destination, and when we reached
the bridge which spans the great
river we were stopped by L.
S. soldiers who searched our car for
arms. 1t was the first day that the
embargo act was in operation. As
soon as we crossed the bridge a
great change was noticeable. The
streets were torn up, really almost i'm
passable; the houses were dirty and
shabby, and the people poorly dressed
and hungry looking. AS we passed
along the guide pointed out Villas
residence, very nice looking place
Many of the buildings were full of
bullet holes-rellcs of the siege of two
years ago-and some had been entirely
destroyed. We also saw the place
where Villa captured 200 soldiers, forced
them to dig their own graves and then
shot them. We visited the bull-ring
where bull fights are held every Sunday
afternoon, an old Spanish mission
church, built about 500 years ago, and
several other places Of interest.
The city was full of Villas soldiers
raining IN age from boys of twelve
years to old men. The guide informed
US that there were 10. 900 in the place
but this is scarcely to be believed
They were, for the most part. a dirty.
ragged, hungry and villianous looking
lot, and their horses appeared as dis
reputable as they. Many women had
followed the camps, and we nearly ran
over some who were seated in the
dust of the road picking up grains
of corn. A number of box-cars were
in use as temporary homes. The
whole thing presented a scene of
/ I