Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1917-08-23
BACK FROM MEXICO
N. J. Craig Returns from an
Exploration Trip Into
Lower California

When NJ. Craig of Mansfield,
attorney and cashier of the Far
mers and Merchants Bank,
stepped on the Frisco depot plat.
form at Mansfield from passen
ger train 103 Friday, he had re.
turned home after an absence of
% days, during which time he
visited scenes and traversed a
country on which the foot OF an
American had seldom trod; he
had made trips over desert lands
which would make Walter Scott 5
Death Valley journeys mere
pleasure trips by comparison:
but comparisons, we are told by
sages, are OdiouH, and so we will
desst and attempt to tell some.
thing of this trip into the wilds
of Mexico.
The trip to which we refer was
made by two Missourians-N. j.
Craig of Mansfield and w. H.
Hamby of Chillicothe. Both We're
raised on a Wright county farm:
they are cousins. They grew up
much as ordinary boys grow up
but they we're always for the
strenuous life, in which they can
give Theodore Roosevelt some
valuable pointers. Craig became
a lawyer and banker, and Handy
a country editor and later a mag
azine writer-and when the gov
ernment needed money they
passed an income tax law and
told Craig his income was bigger
than he needed and assessed him
with an income tax, and when the
Saturday Evening Post OF some
other high class magazine needs
an extra good article they find
out if Handy will furnish it and
then pay him whatever he wants
for it.
AND then came an invitation
from Gov. Estaban Cantu of Low,
er California, that 700 mile long
peninsula that belongs to Mexico
asking Messrs. Craig and
Handy tn be his guests on lit
tie exploration trip into the
wilds of his country. Upon
searching every available refer
encp book and through the public
Libraries in the cities and finding
nothing concerning this country,
they decided this would he a
good way to escape business
cares and see some life that was
new to them,and so they started,
Mr.. Craig joining Mr. Handy at
San Diego, Calf, where he and
his wife were spending their Va,
cation.
With an escort of soldiers pro.
vided by the governor they start
ed out and what they saw and
did is too much for any newspa
per to tell. They Travelled about
half way down the peninsula,
which contains few good towns
but not single newspaper nol
bank.
On his return Mr.. Craig had tt
cross an arid desert in the nnrth
ern part of Lower California; the
thermometer stood at 1870 in the
shade-and there was no shade
Imagine, if you can," says
Mr.. Craig, "a strip of country
as far as you can see, covered
with nothing but cinders from {
railroad engine-and with som,
of the fire still in the cinders, anc
you may get faint ida of thi.
desert
In the lower part of this des
ert is salt sea, about 40 mile.
long and 20 miles wide. The wa
ter in this sea is saltier than tn,
water in the ocean. There ha
never been a boat upon it, an,
Mr.. Craig was unable to get an,
idea as to its depth. =.
The people. too, we e mos
courteous and hospitable, tn
better class being well educat
y ed and cultured; it is only til
l. poems who bring the country in
Il to disrepute, says Mr.. Craig
~ Spanish is the language USED
The travellers came across
It Russian village, inhabited by s
l. bout 400 Russians, the patr
). archs, with their long, tiowin
!. white boards, looking for all tn