Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-04-06
THE WAR PRIMER
By National Geographic Society

Mexico-Some idea of the difficult |
ties which the American punitive ex-
petition has been encountering in its
work of pursuing Pancho Villa is con-
Veyed in a statement prepared by the
National Geographic Society, with
headquarters in Washington, D. C.,
and given to the press today. This
statement is as follows:
Anyone who has travelled over the
highlands of Mexico cannot help feel
ing 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 al6ai dust creeps in through in
visible cracks and gives the traveller
| the appearance of having been work
| ing around q threshing machine all
day long it may we'll be imagined
| what hardships soldiers must meet
| who have to travel on forced march
| Is across such a region. The shifting
| waves of heat which hover above the
| land create curious mirages. Although
| the distance between ri Paso and
Casa Grandes is only $50 miles, Casa
| Grandes is approximately one mile
| higher than FL PaSO.
1.-THE desert region of Chihuahua
| possesses a vegetation nearly every
species of which is supplied with
endless variety of cacti, ranging from
tiny plants no larger than a finger to
| the giant pitahaya, pushing its tall
steam to a height of fifty feet. Then
there are the mesquits, the tornilla,
| the agaVeS, and the yUCcaS. all armed
with spikes as is to repel invasion.
| Under conditions like these the
cavalry arm of our military service is
practically indispensable; indeed 1t is
about the only kind of military force
lNo to TOO -
other part of the American army has
had so much work to do in the past as
the cavalry, and the present eXpedi-
: ton proves that in spite of all that
the war in Europe may seem 10 have
taught, the American people will al
: ways thrust their cavalry wher
emergencies come.
, "A great variety of insects and rep,
! tiles, including lizards, horned tOads
tarantulas and rattlesnakes, abound il
the desert. Conspicuous among TIT
3 birds of the region is the ChaparTa
= cock which attacks and eats rattle
I | snakes with unbridled gusto. TIL
desert has its own remedy for snaN
bites. 1t is a plant called the sneeze
. | wort. The juice of its leaves contain
a strong alkaloid, which serves as al
: antidote for snake poison. Snake
i have a bitter dislike of it, and it is
trick of the Indians to irritate Their
into biting it, with the result tina
h "One of the interesting products c
: this region is the Chihuahua dos
which resembles the sleeve dog {
China and the chin koro dog of ia
! pan. They are sometimes called but
u terfiy dogs" Usually they weig
l. from one to three pounds, and al
ie | often no larger than a large rat. Pun
bred specimens are distinguished
a depression about the size of pc
ID in the forehead and by the pOssessio
lNF a. til =, nEF-
te tourist tide set into Mexico these dos
could be bought for So each. No
they often sell for hundreds and eve
thousands of dollars. Many an Amer
" lean traveller has brought a tiny car
at inc alleged to be a Chihuahua dc
into a large and lusty cur.
when one gets out of the desc
A. region of Chihuahua and into t
1a Sierra Madre Mountains there is foul
~ a winter that is like May or Octob
=" in New England and a summer tn
% is delightful. Game in these moui
=. tains is plentiful. In the northe
u Sierra Madre live the Tarahuma
ut Indians, perhaps the best examples
cir physical perfection in the world. 30
e+ men and women are splendid ru
ners, and their endurance is phenoI
us email. healthy Tarahumare W
easily run 10 miles at a stretS
When sent out as a messenger he GO
Use and constantly. A man has be
is known to carry a letter 900 miles
he five days. While executing the
he feats of endurance the Indians live
~ pinole, which is a dish made of co
and water.
THE Tarahumares kill rabbits wi
les a species of boomerang said to be
all relic Of the days when they and tn
aat Australian knsmen are believed
nd have crossed the Pacific Ocean by
'.u chain of islands supposed to hs
lot linked, at one time, Asia with Ann
: lea and Australia" ---.--..-