The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-05-01
MANY HARDSHIPS ENCOUNTERED
ny AMERICAN TROOPERS
ON VILLAS TRAIL.

Is conveyed In statement prepared
by the National Geographic Society,
with headquarters in this city. This
statement is as follows:
ANY one who has travelled over the
highlands of Mexico can not help
feeling a very deep sympathy for the
men who have been entrusted with the
work Of capturing Pancho villa and
his fellow bandits.
when it is recalled that even in an
ordinarily comfortable Pullman car
the alkali dust creeps in through in
visible cracks and gives the traveller
the appearance of having been work.
ing around a threshing machine all
day long, it may well be imagined
what hardships soldiers must meet
who have to travel on forced marches
across such a region. The shifting
waves of heat which hover over the
land create curious mirages. Although
the distance between FL Paso and Casa
Grandes is only $50 miles, Casa Gran
des is approximately one mile higher
than FL Paso.
THE desert region of Chihuahua
possesses a vegetation nearly every
species Of which is supplied with
thorns or spines. There is an almost
endless variety Of cacti, ranging from
tiny plants no larger than finger to
the giant pitahaya, pushing its tall
stem to a height of fifty feet. Then
there are the mesquits, the tornilla,
the agaves and the yuccas, all armed
with spikes as if to repel invasion.
Under conditions like these the cav
airy arm OF our military service is
practically indispensable; indeed it is
about the only kind of military force
that can be used to advantage No 9TH
er part of the American army has had
so much work to do in the past as the
cavalry, and the present expedition
proves that in spite of all that the war
in Europe may seem to have taught,
the American people will always
thrust their cavalry when emergen-
cies come.
"A great variety of insects and rep
tiles, including lizards, horned toads,
tarantulas and rattlesnakes, abound in
the desert. Conspicuous among the
birds of the region is the chaparral
cock which attacks and eats rattle
snakes with unbridled gusto. The de-
sert has its own remedy for snake
bites. 1t is a plant called the sneeze-
wort. The juice of its leaves contain
a strong alkaloid, which serves as an
antidote for snake poison. Snakes
have a bitter dislike of it, and it is a
trick of the Indians to irritate them
into biting it, with the result that they
quickly die in commissions.
zone of the interesting products of
this region is the Chihuahua dog
" hAAA l'oilllbit0 Nllt SlttNt uOB vi
China and the chin koro dog of Japan
They are sometimes called butterfly
dogs" Usually they weigh from one
to three pounds, and are often no larg-
er than a large rat. Pure bred speci-
mems are distinguished by a depres-
sion about the size of pea in the fore
head and by the possession of five
nails on each foot. Before the tourist
tide set into Mexico these dogs could
be bought for S. each Now they often
sell for hundreds and even thousands
of dollars. Many an American trav.
eler has bought a tiny canine alleged
to be a Chihuahua dog. only to have
ii afterwards develop in TO large and
lusty cur.
when one gets out of the desert
region of chihuahua and into the
Sierra Madre mountains there is found
a winter that is like May or October
In New England and summer that is
delightful Game in these mountains
is plentiful. In the northern Sierra
Madre live the Tarahumare Indians,
perhaps the best examples of physical
perfection in the world. Both men
and women are splendid runners, and
their endurance is phenomenal. A
healthy Tarahumare will easily run
10 miles at a stretch. When sent out
as a messenger he goes along at
slow trot. running steadily and con-
stantly. A man has been known to
carry a letter 600 miles in five days.
While executing these feats of endur-
ance the Indians live on pinole, which
is a dish made of corn and water.
THE Tarahumares kill rabbits with
species of boomerang said to be a
relic of the days when they and their
Australian kinsmen are believed to-
have crossed the Pacific ocean by a
chain of islands supposed TO have link
ed. at one time, Asia with America and
Australia.
The production of petroleum over