The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1915-04-02
WANDERING ISLANDS.
Those of the Rio Grande Made Trouble
For Us With Mexico

The wandering islands of the Rio
Grande in their migrations from 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-
nently ATTACHED to one or the other of
the rivers banks deprived them OF
fixed legal status as 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 is spirit more evident
than in the Rio Grande. Along it's
sinuous route below Rio Grande City
it pushes its way through miles OF
| level sand in its final reach for the
! gulf, twisting and doubling upon itself
like a sea serpent. In 1S4S it was fix
ed upon as the boundary line between
the United States and Mexico. The
| boundary was to be the middle of the
river, following the deepest channel"
But the river possessed characteristics
that had not impressed themselves
upon the trainers of the convention as
possible causes of friction between the
people living along its banks. In ad-
dition to its eroding power, exercised
through long months of low and mean
water, 1t could during flood periods
leap with torrential force across a
| no naaly Of lonH OF ho oP ouo
of its long loops and cut for itself q
new channel Through such avulsive
action of the river Texas soil would
sometimes become Mexican, and on &C.
casions plantation occupied by jacals
and Mexican citizens would overnight
find itself part of Texas.
An example will serve to show both
the extraordinary actions of the river
and the difficulties in 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 POI 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 off 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 1t
had taken from him and so carried
back into Texas piece of land far
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
S. 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 tt
that of Texas. The inhabitants, If any
should retain their citizenship in the
country from which they had been Sc
suddenly and violently detached, oil
they might acquire the nationality Of
the country to which they were now
attached. Any cutoff exceeding 65(
acres in area and having a population
of over 200 souls was not to be consid
, cred banco, and the old bed of thu
river should remain the boundary. A
convention embodying his recommends
tons was finally ratified by both coun
tries. Thus the great turbid, silt bear
ing river is left to pursue it's way I'm
trammeed, but the terrors so long syn
onymous with its name have through
the operation of this equable arrange
ment become part of the STORED, re
mantle past.