Farmers' champion. (Elgin, Okla.) 1912-1922, 1921-10-12
Primitive Water Carts or Mexican eoi DER

fFimlttNc water SdTt
Prepared by the National Geographic 50
oi'ty, Washington u. 60
No region in all North America is
more frequently mentioned or more
widely misunderstood, perhaps. as re
CARDS places. routes. distances, aud
The custom, Of the people. than the
Mexican border Tie name itself
brings tn mind blending of modern
Americunsm aud the 'omuure Of the
uld frontiers. u hints at turmoil aud
intrigue. at wild night rides by cavalry
patrols. nt runners and Smugglers.
II suggests, too, brown faced, Snappy-
eyed Scnoritas In red skirts aud man
,llnS peddliug tungue-bllStering ta-
males aud mild dulceS; Of Mexican
women washing clothes. bubies and
dishes IN Irregular bitches; Of burros,
hens and pigs foraging about the door
ways Of idt-topped, squatty adobe
huts
IN many ways the social cleavage of
this border i sharp and startling. II
cuts MS IN abruptly from another pco-
pie. showing un odd, interesting cross
section " diverse civilizations
Nor nre all the people along this
line either Yankees or McVicanS. Thou
sands of Chinese are settled there on
the Mexican side aud beside them
Rre Turks and Japanese. and 2O Indian
tribes speaking ~ of the babel Of
tongues heard In Mexico.
Thousands of settlers migrate to this
lorderand each year. losing them
selves In the vast, hnzy.blue stretches
Of It's open country; but they are
Americans all, mostly from the Middle
West and the South The hordeS of
Films. SlavS and Nrapolitnns that pour
ir;o our Atlantic ports never get this
far they stop In the manufacturing
ccuters of the East In Texas and
California, Of course native-born gen
erntions are found In the newer states
Of Arizona aud New Mexico most of
the residents (bnrring chlldrcn) have
come from other states.
Rough and Difficult Trip.
Adventurous. colorful and full oi
contrasts rs II is, the lSUO-mile trip
along this crooked historic line Is
rough and difficult nnd has been made
10y few people.
Some Of the widest and least known
regions OF our country are piled M
against this border. Ask any dough
boy. of the muny. many thousands who
have done hitch" on the Mexican
border, what he thinks, for instance
of AJo or the Yuma sector.
From the gulf up to III Paso. along
the Texas frontier. the Rio Grand,
forms. the boundary between th,
United states and Mexico: thence {,
the Pacific the line Is marked by ston,
ur iron monuments (save a short break
NJ the Colorndo). 80 set thut one f.
supposed to hc visible from the other
The Rio Grnnde part of this border
has caused both Uncle Sam and Mex
leo much work and mental anguish
During bad floods the line aS fOrme,
by the river squirms around In so as
tonlshing and lively n manner tha
what Is Mexican soil one day may b,
In Texas the next, and vice versa.
Then, too, there Is the ever.recurrinI
problem of dividing the waters Of th'
river for lrrlgatlng purposes Aroun,
such place. ms Laredo, Tex. this stu
alton affords many an acrimonious In
ternational argument.
No spot on the whole border affords
more of impressive grandeur than IN,
region about the mouth of the Pecos
This yellow, turbulent stream roar
into the Rio Grande near the town %
Del Rio. foaming along the bottom o
steep.walled canyon worn hundred
of feet deep In the solid rock.
Relic Of Camel Experiment.
At the old fort at Camp Verde, nortl
OF Uvalde, In IA relic of one Of the old
est experiments ever made by our gov
ernment II Is an Arab khan, In ruin
now, but In Its time an exact rrpl!ci
of the rectangular adobe caravansarie
built along such caravan trails ns tha
from Bngdad TO Teheran. This khai
was built back In 1856, when jefferson
Davis was secretary Of war and tn
famous experiment was made will
camels for army transport use betwee
Texas and California.
As you follow the border west, oaks
pines and underbrush decrease, nrIdlt
increases, and cacti lift their thorn
heads Cattle. goats and sheep ar
pastured In large numbers; but, excep
for irrigated areas along the river, III
country is rthinly settled and undeveI
oped. Border counties like Brewster
Preside and FL Paso are Of amazin
area-larger than some of our sma