El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-16
PERSHING GIVES
NANIQUIPAFANE
Soldiers Become Acquaint-
ed With Sneeze- Wort and
Tarahumare Indians.

Washington .. G.. MAY 1f r-,ti,
Gen Pcrshing's e1peditfonarv force
. began to stablish a camp at &a,,i-
quipa. in the state Of chihuahua tbie
little Mexican village of a few hundred
inhabitants had about as much pros
pect Of becoming known to the Ameri-
can public as Valley Forge had before
George Washington decided to maxi,
the Pennsylvania hamlet the head
quarters of the Continental army dur
ing the blacklist winter Of the FevoIu-
tionary war.
The National Geographic society. I'm
war geography bulletin. gives the
following data about the village which
up TO the present time has been Of such
little moment that few maps of Mexico
record its location:
"Namiquipa. where Gen Persbinp he
gan concentrating his forces while Gen.
AlvarO Oregon, Of the Carranza cabi-
net. and Mai. Gen. Hugh L. Scott and
Mai Gen. Fred Funston. representing
the American government. We're i'm con-
ference i'm Ciudad Juarez. is a village
nesting I'm the foothills of the Sierra
Madres. Ii is situated on the banks
OF one Of the shallow tributaries OF
the Rio de Santa Maria, 90 miles due
% ?
ton on the mainline Of the railroad
between El Paso and chihuahua It is
about $50 miles south Of FL Paso, more
than 20 miles northwest Of chihuahua
City. and fully zoo miles northwest of
ParraL the southerly point reached bv
the advance cavalry under Col Dodd.
Climate Declared Ideal.
american soldiers have not eXper-
fenced any discomfort from the hea.
i'm this locality, for the nights are usu-
ally cool and the mornings frosty dur
ing the spring months Accounts of
the climate are so glowing that one
almost expects TO find a concealed ref
erence to some progressive summer
and winter resort hotel I'm that VIZ
cinity one enthusiastic traveller as
serts that the salubriOus air is con-
ducfve to longevity to a remarkable
dams Of whom there are $4,000 in this
region. living 10 be hundred or more
years OF age. These Tarahumares, in
cidentdlly, will present striking object
lessons Of physical fitness for our sol
diers. They are among the hardest
people Of the North American CONT
nent being able to endure almost un-
beIiavahle hardships.
Home OF the SueeNe-WOrt Plant.
The American troops probably have 4
had occasion TO test the reputed viz :
tues OF the cebadilla. or sneeze-Wort .
J
is believed by the natives to be an eN- .
cellent antidote for the venom OF rat {
tlesnaIcs. scorpions. tarantulas. spiders /
and many other reptiles and insects
which infest chihuahua. Snakes arr 4
said TO give the cebadilla a wide berth f.
and the Indians declare that a reptile ,
win die in commissions after having
been irritated until il strikes at ana ,
bites the leaves held before it. An I
other potent factor in checking tine /
ravages Of poisonous pests is the cha !
parral cock. or paysano, which dimes /
ON RATHER with as much relish as /
does the more famous secretary bird or !
serpent eagle Of South Africa. A less !
useful but equally unusual bird OF this |
region is species OF giant woodpecker. !
which sometimes measures as much |
as two. feet FROM the tip OF its tail
to its beak.
soap Trees at BatOpilaE.
In the BatOpilas district, FAR up iu
the mountains behind Namiquipa, grows
o peculiar tree from which a very ac-
,eptable soap is made.
The Santa Maria river near the
leadwaters OF which the American
'amp is located. runs almost due north.
Implying into Lake Santa Maria, 80
niles below the Texas border. The
stream flows through territory rich I'm
,innabar. the ore from which much
II the mercury used in MeXico's silver
mining operat tons is obtained