El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-24

Mhole fumlig 10 MANANAs
While the natives OF the city OF
Namiquipa are exhibiting a spirit OF
aloofness. particularly i'll the matter
OF trading with the army, the natives
Of fhe valleys farther removed from
the influences which are supposed to
animatetheir more citiried brethren,
are not so reserved or distant They
come in in droves and bring on their
lean mules. burros or horses or in their
OK carts or more prctentiOus horse
drawn wagons, whatever they may have
for sale In nearly every instance they
are accompanied by every member OF
the family and the little cavalcades in
variably present sights picturesque in
the extreme, which are always Of IN
terest to the American soldiers
The size of the cavalcade is rarely
an indication Of the amount Of stuI
the head of the house and the COM
,nander Of the party may have for
sale. He may have a single dozen Of
'blanquillOs' (eEgs) or a half dozen
OF "psn dulces' (coOkies) or hen, or
he may be a contractor who has
thousand pounds OF 'mais," pronounced
'smice" and meaning just plain corn,
which the duartermaster is always glad
to get for the cavalry and artillery
horses constantly streaming through
the camp TO the front" wherever that
may be.
For some reason not explained the
people Of the business section of Nami-
quipa are not as friendly disposed to-
ward us as are the farmers or as are
those who are not in trade. The only
form in which they manifest their dis
like II il is dislike. is by refusing to
trade with the mess sergeants and
others who have the right to go into
the town for trading purposes Ihey
look longingly at the gold flashed IN
their faces but firmly insist in most
cases that they are "OUt" OF the par
ticular articles Of food or clothing
which the prospective purchasers seem
to have set their hearts upon. This
disposition is believed by the pessi-
mists connected with the expedition.
and there are always few in every
organization who are inclined to look
for rain on the sunniest day, to be due
to the fact, not that the people OF the
town are particularly friendly to via
but that they are afraid he may make
reprisals If he hears that the Amerl-
cans have been permitted TO buy 1000.
Natives Have No shoes.
When the matter Of the poverty or
the people was under discussion earlier
in this article, some mention should
have been made OF the prevailing styles
in footwear. or the lack Of it. in this
benighted section Of the great repub-
lie Of Mexico. So few are shoes, as
Americans understand that term in
this valley. that II a native appeared
i'm camp wearing a pair OF soles and
heels and looking like anything hut
mOccasfns, the chances are that ne
would at once be under suspicion Of
being a Villista soldier and prabably
placed I'm detention or under sur
veilance.
We have not vet reached those por-
tions OF the republic where the sandat
Is the commonly accepted form Of foot
protection. This valley. with its Gle
walton Of 1900 feet above sea level is
so cold as 10 require that II the foot
is to be covered at all, il be covered
all over. For that reason when man
or woman wears anything like shoe
at all. it is made OF rawhide. usually
with the hairy side OF the skin out and
sewed with thongs Of sincw or strips
Of rawhide. Until a change comes over
the spirit Of the people OF Namiqulpa-
I don't look to see American shoe man
ufacturers rushing to the secretary or
the Namiquipa chamber Of commerce
with inquiries for sites for shoe fac-
tories. nor do I expect to see American
iobbers in footwear establishing them
selves with heavy stock OF shoes for
sale to the natives
BnIinE Wire Much Sought
II has long been an established fact
that the average native Of the rural
districts of the northern portion Of
Mexico has been inclined to look up-
on baling wire as the most valuable
invention of the "GringO,' for the rea-
son that the aforesaid native could
put the baling wire, discarded by the
American. to so many uses. He could
build a hut by using il as binding for
the cactus or other sticks used as the
main building material or he could tie
a pair Of wheels together and make
wagon on which he might ride or haul
a load. The people of the Namiquipa
valley are very much like their breth-
rem close to the border They never
saw much baling WIRE TIL the punitive
expedition appeared upon their horizon
but they were not long in catching on
to its value. At first the soldiers threw
the stuff away. They are not so careless
now. Every strand of it is worth an
egg and the three strands on every
bale are converted into three perfectly
good eggs as fast as they are taken
from the few hay bales which find
their way into the Quartermaster
stores.
Coal oil and gasoline cans. for all
sorts Of purposes, from water buckets
or receptacles in which to carry wares
to market, to braziers in which to burn
charcoal for cooking or heating pur-
poses, run baling wire n close second
as to value in the minds Of the simple
natives of this section OF the state OF
Chihuahua and every can OF oil or gaso-
line emptied at the aviation and auto
mobile station IS Immediately colNti u
cd into 20 eggs and eggs is eggs IN
the dietary Of this camp.
Think Americans MOllyeOddles.
One Of the things which eNcites the
wonder Of the natives, even OF those
who have served with one or another
of the many revolutionary armies
which have flOurished during the past
five troublous years, is the fact that
the American soldier puts up a tent
when he goes into camp for more than
merely over night. Their soldiers, even
the officers. never did anything so in
dicative Of physical weakness, and they
are rather outspoken in their wonder
If the Americana is not a molly cod
die" after all, to be whipped out Of his
boots by the elements if not by VIVA
and the remnants of his famous regi-
ments OF "Dorados" Golden Onesl.
While the native permits himself TO
be excited by the number Of tents erect |
ed on the great grassy plane overlook /
ing the southern or lower end OF the
town he calls home. he is much more
excited by the constant stream of
"soldadOs AmericanOs," which pours
through the great city Of tents. 1 !
asked a "paisano" how many men he d
thought had passed through Namiquipa /
since they began to pass through a /
week or two ago. "Veinte mil mas {
Ctwenty thousand and mOre) was his /
reply and l don't blame him for think