Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-11-20
MIR. and Mrs. Wm. Wichern, Son,
and Daughter Continue Their
Way to the Westward
SPEND A NIGHT In
MEXICAN ADOBE HOUSE
Bones Are Seen Many
Places on the Prairie in New
Mexico
By Mrs William Wichern
Part II

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Part II
On the way from Trinidad to Ration
Colorado, we had TO go up narrow,
winding road called the Ration Pass.
Almost at the foot of this a big coal
truck was stalled, and for an hour q
dozen tourist cars were held mp.
Tourists from Oklahoma, Iowa, Kan
sas, California, New Yark, Dakota and
wisconsin were soon mingling to-
gether and getting acquainted.
After a lot OF shoveling with the
only implement the coal haulers
possessed-a scoop shovel and much
hard pushing by all the men the
truck was finally started and the
tourist cars allowed to pass.
We ran into some road construction
work and had several miles of ex-
ceedingly bad roads, getting into
Ration just dusk.
There is a very steel railroad grade
at Ration Pass and it is necessary to
split, even the passenger trains using
three engines for each part.
Sleep in Abode House
The next night was spent in Las
Vegas and the following one in Santa
Fe, in a real Mexican adobe house.
The hostess was kindness itself and
the rooms neat and clean. All through
Mexico one can see these quaint
adobe houses with their bake oyeas
and festoons of red peppers drapl1ggi
the walls. Seeing one of these that
took our fancy, we sprang out of the
car to get 8. snap shot. Two young
Mexican girls sitting in front of the
house evidently did not care to have
their pictures taken as they turned
their backs to us, laughing heartily
all the time.
Santa Fe did not strike us as being
a very progressive city, not even hav-
ing street cars. Many of the public
buildings are OF adobe, and some Of
the streets are SO very narrow that
it was mystery to us how the Pc
destrians escaped with their lives
amidst the traffic. There are great
many Indian and Mexican residents
there. We ate our supper at
Mexican restaurant and our breakfast
in Japanese place and found good
food at both places. Good coffee seems
hard to obtain at any place.
In Colorado the fine large horses us
ed in pulling heavy loads of beets
were quite noticeable, but in Mexico
poor horses were the rule. Often we
would see loads pulled by four little
jacks.
Sometime before reaching Santa Fe
we could see snow capped mountains
in the vest and south and they re.
mained with us for many days.
From Santa Fe to Socorro is 152
miles and some of the road is very
rough and stony. After going over
an especially bad piece of road, al
the top of hill, we read this sign:
= sS 4 Z X = !
\ Cheer up only 27 miles to y
= Socorro x
We cheered up but still the bad
road continued. At last we read
s'Now speed up-''Better Roads," and
we were surely glad of a chance te
speed up. Getting into Socoro q
little after dark, we were directed tc
the hotel Verdi, very fine, modern
building almost new Here we foun6
a great deal of style and the best
of Accommodations and paid well fol
them too.
/ The next day we had pretty good
roads but some terribly winding ones
on the tablelands of Arizona. Most
OF the country through which we
passed was waste land or grazing
land, and the grazing land certainly
looked very waste to us.
BIeached Bones Everywhere
1t was no uncommon sight to sex
dead cattle and horses lying beside
the road and bleached bones were tt
be seen everywhere. They tell III
] that Arizona had hard winter tWs
years ago and that some ranchmel
lost as many as 500 animals from ex
posure. This summer Arizonia hat
more rain than in any year 70
thirty years, causing terrible wash
; outs. and that is one season W,
find so much of the road rough an,
stony
] We met an auto taking in thre