The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-09-04
OLD TIME PATHFINDER REVISITS
IDAHO AFTER FIFTY ONE YEARS

main content in quiet college town
and in 1900 he went to Chiapas, the
southeast Mexican state. and under
took the management of three large
plantations owned respectively in
Philadelphia. Wisconsin and Iowa.
These lands, aggregating nearly thir-
ty thousand acres, had been sold to
syndicates in the places named. and
Mr.. Markley went thither as the rep
resentative of a development com
pany, which undertook to clear and
plant them with coffee and rubber and
thus make them remunerative. This
occupied some twelve years, during
which all kinds of new and strange
experiences came to the adventurer.
But the task was accomplished and
the property turned over to its own
ers; after which instead of returning
to the states, Mr.. NJ. moved onto a
35OO-acre plantation of his own where
improvements were already started,
and from which he would now be en-
joying a fine revenue had it not been
for the distracted condition of that
unhappy country, which paralyzed
values. stopped exports and caused
all the other American owned plan
tations to be absolutely abandoned.
Despite all pOrtends. however, and
repeated official warnings to leave.
Mr. Markley and wife have stayed
right there. Once his little store was
looted by an armed band: for months
at a time communication with the
outside world was cut off-but still
they held the fort. and are only now
away for a visit and rest, expecting
tc return, if they can get back about
December l, next.
All these plantations, including his
own, are on the Tulija, navigable
river and about $50 miles from
Frontera, their seaport town on
the Gulf of Mexico. The seat of gov
ernment for that department, or coun-
ty as we would call it, is Salto de
Aqua, and the location is the very
southeastern corner of Mexico. which
has not been harried like the north
ern and central parts of that country.
Indicating south Mexico an "agri-
culture" it may be of interest to state
that the Finca Puenta de Piedra (the
Stone Bridge Ranch). as the Markleys
call their place. has $50, 900 rubber
trees, just fairly begin to yield
over 10000 Spanish cedar and ma
hogany trees, 80 900 banana and pine
apple plants, and fair stocking o.
cattle. In addition some corn is rails
ed and some other tropical fruits ant
vegetables. Until 1913, the labor
question" was dead easy down there
Practically all the laborers were pc
ons-which simply means that they
owed the man for whom they worked
and to whom their labor absolutel,
belonged (for regular pay, of course
until some else bought it by paying
and taking over the account. A sing
ular thing about this system (whicl
was ended by law in 1879 was in th'
fact that the chief trouble the plante
had with his poems was not to keel
them from paying out and becoming
free men, but to prevent their increa5
ing their indebtedness indefinitely.
On the present trip Mr.. NJ. has re
visited much of the ground firs
known to him a half century ago. On
visit of especial interest to him wa
made to a Mr.. Cole, at Wieppe, up il
the Idaho Clearwater country, and MI
Cole not only having been a partne
in his mining adventures, but also
comrade in the army during thre
previous years.