The sun., 1916-08-27
opportunity to the settler and needing
aboya all thtoOs rnor~ ccc,t~xtoo

ISL " hhO 0CksA0A w GC0AIn
above all things population.
The description Of the country along
the Rio Grande IL inadequate, because
MIR. Winter sticks closely to the rail-
roads and. as a rule. Ia interested only
with the large towns which give prom
ise Of becoming prosperous. He re-
minds us that the United States army
a been patrolling the Aver ever since
Porfrio Diaz's downfall in 1910. He
begins with Ell Paso, Of which he APP
proves because II Ia q modern city, and
with the neigboring Fort Bliss. Tho
river banks are low here and easily
approachable: II IL the lowest pass in
the continental divide and lies In .
valley from one to three miles wide
and nearly nifty miles long. He COM
pares the city with Juarex acros the
river. He then Jumps half way down
the river to Eagle Pass and Piedras
Negras opposite, merely mentioning
Preside and the junction Of the Pecos
and Rio Grande. but giving no idea Of
what the intervening country IL like,
though he 10 impressed by the size Of
the counties. Near by 10 Fort Duncan.
The next Jump IL to Laredo and Fort
Mcintosh. The back country apparent.
ly contains large ranches covered with
mesquite and prickly pear. The triangle
forming the southernmost point Of
Texas. from Laredo to the mouth Of
the Rio 0rands and back TO the
Nueoes River. RAJ practically unin.
habited down to 1880. with the excep.
ton Of Brownsville. The herdsmen
roAmed over Il With herds Of Thousands
Of cattle. horses and sheep. The pop
ulation 10 sparse and scattered: half Of
Il 10 Mexican, ana the buildings. the
methods Of agriculture and the Gus.
toms are Mexican. The railroad
reached Brownsville IN 1905. and while
II 10 q considerable town. the manners
and the majority Of the people are
seemingly still Mexican. The soil near
the town 10 very fertile. 90 that trop-
zeal plants grow luxuriantly: that Of
poor. till irrigation was introduced In
places on the railroad running parallel
with the river and wonderful crops
were raised. The towns the author
mentions are Zapata, Roma and Rie
0rands City along the river and Har.
lingen and Mercedes on the railroad
line. with garden truck by the cal
load near at hand the lot Of the
guardsmen in the Brownsville sectios
should not be too hard.
There II little to indicate the char
acter Of the country along the rive
or the difhculties from climate ant
from nature that the men on guar
are likely TO meet. Mr.. winters chile
interest II in the cities that are likel!
to prosper and the country adjacen
to each that will contribute to Its ad
vance. San Antonio Il his favorite
but he sings the praises of Houston
Galveston. Dallas. Fort Worth. Austin
Waco. Beaumont Just as heartily. II,
admires the way in which the Pan
the railroad legislation Of Texas. tn
commission system Of city government
Of Galveston. the municipal slaushte
house Of Paris. Lanier county. He ad
mits that Texas has been overrun II
the past by promoters. the failure o
whose schemes has hurt the State: bu
the optimistic spirit Of those who ex
pect great things In the les futuI
has full possession OF him. He share
the Texan enthusiasm for higness. bil
counties. big ranches. big business. A
all events ne presents to us a Texa
far different from that which man
people picture to themselves. q Texa
free from Indians. from bad men an
riotous cowboys, a Texas that enforce
prohibition and drives gambling. hors
racing. bull fights and the a~ttendan
disorders cross the convenient Dor
der. a Texas that Is building up indus
tries, that Is raising immense crops @
cotton. corn. wheat. live stock. garde
truck. developing natural resource
and striving Il secure fair play In tn
markets. a Texas. too. that Is calm
on the national Government to max
her rivers navigable. to enlarge he
: ports. TO dam the Rio Grande. an
offering to do her share In the worl
J II Is an alluring picture OF h ener
getic Lone Star State. The illustra
lions are fine photographs.