The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1917-04-12
CHAPTER ".
At Las Palmas.

Although the lower counties or
southwest Texas are fiat and badly
watered, they possess n rich soil. They
are favored, too, by n kindly climate,
suhtroplc In It's mildness. The Rio
Grnndc, j~aundiced, erratic as on in
valid, wrings its saffr N blood from the
clay bluffs and gravel canyons of the
hill country, but near Its estuary winds
quietly through Il low COASTAL plo,n
which the very impurities of that blood
have richened. Here the rivers banks
are smothered in thickets of huisache,
ebony. mesquite, oak and alamo.
Railroads are so scarce along his
division of the border that to travel
from Brownsville north along the In
ternational line one must, for several
hundred miles, avail oneself of horses,
mules or motorcars, since rail transpor-
tation Is almost lacking. And on his
way the traveller will traverse whole
counties where the houses are jacals,
where English Is a foreign tongue, and
where poems pillow their fields with
crooked sticks as did the ancient
Egyptians.
That part of the state which lies
below the Nueccs river was for II time
disputed territory, and long after Tex
nns had given their lives TO drive the
eagle of Mexico across the Rio Grnnde
much of 1t remained n forbidden land,
Even today II Is alien. 1t Is u part o!
our Southland. but n South different
10 any other that we have. Within /,
there are no blacks, and yet the whites
number but one in twenty. The rest
are swarthy, black-haired men who
speak the Spanish tongue and who's,
citizenship is mostly a matter OF form
The stockmen, pushing ahead of the
nesters and the tillers of the soil, were
the first to invade the lower Rio
Grandc, and among these "Old Ed
Austin was n pioneer. Lik the othel
cattle barons, he was hungry for lane
and took IL where or how he could
Those were crude old days; the piO
neers who pushed their herds into III,
far pastures were lawless fellows, ruth
less, acquisltIve, mastered by the EN-
pire-builder's urge for acres and still
more acres.
As other ranches grew under tn,
hands Of such unregenerate owners, 81
also under "Old Ed Austln's manage
ment did Las Palmas increase AM
prosper. II comprised m expanse o
rich overland backed by miles O
range where "Box 4" cattle lived ant
bred. In his later years when the oil,
maj handed Las Palmas 10 his sou
young Ed" as n wedding gift, III
ranch was known far and wide for It
size and richness. Las Palmas ha,
changed greatly since Austin, senior
painfully scrawled his slanting sigma
lure to the deed. 1t was a dlfferen
ranch now 10 what the old man ha
known indeed, II wns doubtful II h
would have recognized II, for even III
house was new.
Alalre had some such thought /
mind us she rode up tn the gate o
the afternoon following her dcpartur
from the water hole, and she felt
thrill Of pride AT the acres Of sproutln
corn, the dense green field of alfalf
SO nicely fitted between their fence
They were like clean, green squares q
mating spreal for the feet Of summit
A Mexican hoy canc running to car
for her horse, n Mexican woman gree
cd her as she entered the wide, coo
hall and went to her room. Doloro
fixed n bath ard lniG ~ clean ciothe
with n running accompaniment Of cha
ter concerned with household affair
She was n great gossip, and possesse
such a talent for gaining informatlo
that through her husband, BenltO, n
range boss. she was able 10 keep h
mistress In fairly intimate touch wit
ranch matters.
Aleire. as she ~lelsrrcly dressed he
self, acknowledged that II was good
feel the physical comforts OF her ow
mouse, even though her hoinecomiI
gave her no especial JOY. She made
n religious practice to dress for Dime
regardless Of Eds presence. thoui
nffan for waaka at N tima oha sat