The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-13
BOY WRITES OF
 LIFE IN NOGALES CAMP
Tells of the Christmas Snow How Boys Do Guard Duty What They Think of the Sorry and Forlorn and Hungry Looking Men Across the Border and Says the
 Mexicans Are Fine Buglers
By M. HARvfE

rom q military StanUpOlnl, admire the ease and simplicity of it.
 During the day, when it is so warm it seems as though summer had come again, our friends on guard across the line come out to bask in the sunshine, but when sunset brings winter back once more he retires into his box and there remains. To men who have been trained in our school of soldering this sort of thing is never ending joke.
 Some of these Mexican soldiers seem to be a rather friendly lot, and disposed to fraternize with our boys, but as neither knows the others language they never Tget beyond the use of signs. This sort of conversation makes little progress, and never leads to violating the order against talking on post, For the most part each regards the other in silence and with poorly disguised curiosity. For each, to the other, is as strange as some sort of rare animal
 SOLDIERS ARE SORRY"
 To our eyes the soldiers on the other side are sorry" indeed. What they think of us is hard to imagine. As they are without uniforms worthy of the name, and seem to be not overly opulent in the way of equipment, they probably regard our troops with wonder and envy. That any soldiers should have clothes enough, diN NlobllCS tio dIe dll Dl lIe SdllJ6 COlOT and pattern, must seem to them won derful thing. And that each sentinel wears full bandoleer of cartridges (worth their weight in silver, almost, across the line), and carries a rifle that is just like every other rifle, is still more wonderful. And also that soldiers should have great, heavy overcoats, instead of the many colored shawls, or serapes, that they wear, is also worthy of note.
 A,,1 A must seem to them. For we have no bet ter sense than to stand guard out in the cold, and walked ever to and fro and sleep not, while their brave soladoes re- main indoors and sit quietly beside the fire. Surely we must seem people with out brains.
 Whatever cause for scorn our boys may see in the Mexican sentinels, they all pay tribute to their musicians. Their quar- ters are only short distance from the line and our men can plainly hear their bugle calls So, whenever they blow call they have an international audience. Their calls are entirely different from ours, and are much longer and more complicated. So much So that when they start on one it is a matter for speculation as to when they will finish, Not only are their mu- sicians possessed of skill and talent, they are men of industry as well. We are ever ready to give them their need of praise for we realize that they know their busi- ness
 This bugle concert is held every evening commencing about 9:30 and continuing, with intervals, until II, when the hard working musicians, with one last mighty effort, blow Taps" From the amount of noise they make, their comrades must be hard crowd to put to sleep.
 BEAUTIFUL AT DAYBREAK
 The chief effort, however, is at reveille, the first call for which is sounded just before daybreak. To the sentinel on post, and the officer making his rounds of in spection, these morning bugle calls are rarely beautiful. To hear the bugles ring out over the sleeping cities just as the skies begin to pale, is some reward for being out in the cold at such an hour. As the music continues, with many thrills and flourishes, the American listener wonders how anyone could possibly sleep through it. Our friends across the line must be as hard to wake as they are to put to sleep.
 There is one thing that no one can over look here on the border. That is. the ter rible poverty of the Mexican people. It is matter of common knowledge that on the other side the peons are always just one meal ahead of starvation. They come swarnling over the lines as to a Land of Promise seeking something to devour. And they are ready to live any where and do anything that will assure them of getting enough to eat
 Their little huts are built everywhere in and around both cities, and stranger can hardly believe that they are really human habitations. We never knew be- fore that a man could build a residence out of dry goods boxes and tin cans, but here those articles are among the most popular building materials The walls of the house can be made weatherproof with the odds and ends of boxes, and tin cans. flattened out, make very desirable shin gles. Lacking nails. few rocks keep the roof on very nicely. If one can find an old oil can, or discarded tin bucket he is in luck. All he has to do is to ham, mer it flat. and nail, or tie, it in place. We have seen houses made of old grain sacks and bundles of straw tied together Turn peon loose on the city dump pile and he will rustic a habitation in mighty short order These huts are the squalor. How people can live and thrive in them is a mystery
 While certain home staying fire eaters are clamoring for war with Mexico and berating the government for not sending us down there to kill and be killed lei us remember one thing That is. the Mexicans peon is far more anxious to eat than he is to fight. and that he needs a square meal mighty bad. We Alabama ooys have learned that he is not s,lcL 2 bad fellow after all and if he is not Al nice as he ought to be, we must remember that some of our countrymen down bara have been setting him a mighty bad ex- ample.