Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-09-16
MEXICAN BORDER
j LITTLE KNOWN
No Region in All North America
More Widely Misunderstood,
Says Writer.
TRIP FULL OF CONTRASTS
No Section Of Borderiand Has Seen So
Much Of Adventure, Tragedy and
Turbulent Activity as State
Of Texas.

VI tVNdo.
Washington. u. C.-"NO region in
all North America Is more frequently
mentinncG ~ more widely mlSunder-
stood perhaps. than the Mexican hOr-
der" writes Frederick Simpich. for
merly American consul at NOgales.
Mexico, TO the National Geographic So
ciety.
"From the Gulf Of Mexico up to FL
Paso along the Texns frontier. the
Rio Grande forms the boundary he
tween the United States and Mexico:
thence to the Pacific coast the line Is
marked by stone or iron monuments
.tsave n short break ut the Colorado),
so set that one is supposed to he Wis
ible from another. BY this plan n
soldier. miner or cowman Eyes, and a
smuggler, tool can always tell which
side of the line he is on or. If wholly
lost and he comes suddenly on mon
ument. he can soon get oriented.
"Adventurous. cOlorful and full Of
contrasts as II is. the 1900 mile trip
along this crooked. historic line Is
rough and difficult and has been made
by few people.
1.-THE Rio Grande part of this Dor
der has caused both Uncle Sam and
Mexico much work and mental an
guIsh. During had floods the line rs
formed by the river squirms around
in so astonishing and lively manner
that what Is Mexican soil one day may
he in Texas the next, and vice versa.
eigness Of Texas.
Railroads cut this long border line
nt Brownsville Laredo. Eagle Pass,
ard FL Paso. Tex: at Douglas. Naco
and Nognlcs In Arizona. and at Cal
exico and Tia Juana, in California.
Only foh- Of these railroads, however.
are main Inc. "a through traffic that
penetrate th" interior of Mexico; these
start nj LAREDO, Eagle Pass FL PasO
and Nogales.
"You visualize the bigness Of Texas
that borders on Mexico. You realize
its emptiness, too, when you travel
through some Of Its border regions,
where the population is less than two
per square mile.
mo section of the border has seen
so much of adventure. tragedy and tur-
bulent activity as Texas. The flags OF
France, Spain and Mexico have waved
over 1t; for a time II flew its own
Lone Star apd also the Confederate
flag.
"In Brownsville you hear more
Spanish than English, because most
of the 5000 people who live there are
Mexicans.
up the river from Brownsville lies
Laredo, most important border town
in south Texas, even If an Old nap
does call this vicinity a wilderness
filed with wild horses
Eagle Pass, on up the Rio Grande,
was favorite camping spot for the
California gold hunters in 40.
LAS you follow the border west.
oaks, pines and underbrush decrease,
aridity increases, and cacti lift, their
thorny heads. Border counties like
Brewster, Preside and FL Paso are of
amazing area-.larger than some Of
our small eastern states. Windmi!ls
are everywhere-big electric fans TO
keep the cattle COOL waggish cow
hoy once explained to a London ten
derfoot.
Largest Irrigation Reservoir.
eel Paso is the only large city from
San Antoine to Los Angeles, a ride
Of 1,5O0 dry, dusty miles.
1.-THE largest reservoir anywhere is
the great Elephant Butte dam. which
stores more water than the world-fa-
nous Assuan dam on the Nile. This
big dam, built in the Rio Grande above
Ell Paso at point In New Mexico,
holds enough water, we are told, to
fill standpipe II feet In diameter
reaching from III Paso to the moon,
or to cover Massachusetts to depth
of six inches!
"From the point at monument No.
where the boundary line crawls out Of
the Rio Grande Eat the southeast cor
ner of New Mexico), 1t strikes west
into a wilderness of singularly dry and
empty aspect. For 40 miles along this
march the traveller must carry his own
water.
ITO the west lie the rough, hostile
foothills of the Dog mountains; near
here, In the San Luis range. the line
reaches a point of 5000 feet above the
sea, marking the continental divide.
"In the San Bernardino valley the
line strikes the first running water
after quitting the Rio Grande-192
miles to the east. Here rises the ia
nous Yaqui river, that long. crooked
stream that meanders through the vast
Mexican state of Sonora and through
the turbulent Yaqui Indian zone, final
" emptying into the Gulf of California
below Guaymas.
"In the whole 7OO-mile stretch from
the Rio Grande to the Pacific, this
line crosses only FIVE permanent run
ming streams, and the average rain
fail throughout its length Is only
eight inches.
sSave the hamlets of Columbus and
Hachita, the New Mexican section Of
this border 10 almost uninhabited."