St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-09-13
ORLEANS BOY WRITES
Letter from Vermont Boy in Connec-
ticut National Guard at
Nogales, Arizona.
Especial to The Caledonian.)

Especial to The Caledonian.)
Orleans, sept. 1.-THE following
letter has been received from Ebert
Cole, Middlebury rs, an Orleans boy,
who is in the machine gun company
of the First Infantry, Connecticut
National Guards at Nogales, Ariz
Mr. Cole taught biology in the high
school at Hartford, Conn, and the
place is being held for him until he
can return.
Nogales, Ariz., lies in a Y-shaped
valley which runs almost exactly
north and south. The international
boundary line passes east and west up
the middle of one of the principal
streets. 1t seemed very strange to
me that by merely crossing the street
1 could go from my native land onto
foreign soil. Such an act, however,
is not likely, for fine and imprison-
ment await the reckless soldier who
tries. and guards constantly patrol
the line to see that any such attempts
to cross the border are thwarted.
The northern part of the town is a
typical busy Arizona border town,
while that part lying in the forked
valleys is merely a sleep, istless So
nora settlement.
High rocky hills overhang the town.
When first we arrived at Nogales
these hills seemed barren, but later
the mesquite and live oaks changed
from a dusty gray to a refreshing
green, due to the coming of the rainy
season. Halfway up one of the hills
lies the heart of the town. big
water reservoir. The water is pump
ed for miles from the Santa Cruz riv-
er to this reservoir. Undoubtedly this
is the most vital spot in the entire
city. Imagine anything more disas-
trous than the destruction of the res
ervoir of a town lying in an arid re-
gion miles away from water. Of
course some relief would come by
way of the railroad, which passes
down through Nogales.
The presence of this railroad is the
reason for the towns existence. The
Southern Pacific passes through Ari-
iona down through Sonora, and forms
one of the best, even if roundabout,
routes to Mexico City. This last fact
may very well be the reason why the
United States. Immediately after Car
ranza's threat, sent several thousand
soldiers to Nogales, thus increasing
the population of the town from it's
1,UUU TO ABOUT zUyUUO.
The stores in Nogales are bright
with electric lights, electric fans keep
up a busy humming and cash regis
tiers are numerous and do a big bust
ness. There is, however, a flash and
color to this border town that is I'M
like what we find in our eastern
towns. The streets are thronged,
groups of soldiers pass by clad in
khaki, a number of Mexican girls
wearing brightly colored garments, |
like magpies, stolid Indian
women with babies, now and then a |
black whiskered Mexican with blue
overalls and sombrero. This is the
sort of population you would expect
to find in a border town, where all
breeds mingIe. Occasionally a real
senorita comes along, |
and there is a striking beauty in some
of those slender, dark-eyed Spaniards.
At two or three narrow alleys were
swarthy natives selling Mexican
money. Several of US fellows obtain
ed quite ''wad' for the price of two
bits. One night I saw a big crowd
of excited men around an alley, so l
FASTENED there. A couple of natives
were conducting a f1ght-the two
being a centipede and a
scorpion. The battle was exciting and
for many minutes ragged without vic
tory for either creature. Finally.
however, the centipede secured ia
tai grip upon the scorpion and the
battle was declared to be in favor
of the former.
Outside of the town and north of it
are located the camps of the various
units stationed here. These
include the camps of the 18th Reg
ulars, the Utah Battery, California
and the Connecticut regi-
ments.
Drills, of course, vary-dependingl
upon the function of each company.
The company to which 1 belong is a
machine gun company and we are
blessed with 16 mules. OF course be-
fore any regular drills could be car
ried on it was necessary for the men
to become acclimated. And 1 can
assure you most emphatically that 1t
is a big change to come from fertile,
humid New England to high and dry
1000 feet above sea level.
Two diseases here are much fear
ed, smallpox and typhoid. To protect
against an epidemic each soldier was
vaccinated and also received three
hypodermic injections of anti-typhoid
serum. The effects of this treatment,
while not serious in themselves, GER
tainIy made some fellows sick when
combined with the effects of the ex-
Tho otQr fire.