The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1921-12-16

ciety. Washington, d. c.
No region in all North America Is
more frequently mentioned or more
widely misunderstood, perhaps, as re-
CARDS places, routes, distances, and
the customs Of the people, than the
Mexican border. The name itself
brings to mind a blending Of modern
Americanism and the romance of the
old frontiers. 1t hints at turmoil and
intrigue, at wild night rides by cavalry
patrols, mt gun-runners and smugglers.
1t suggests. too, brown-faced, snappy-
eyed senorltas in red skirts and man.
tillas, peddling tongue-blistering ta-
males and mild dulces; of Mexican
women washing clothes, babies and
dishes In irregular bitches; Of burros,
hens and pigs foraging about the door
ways Of flat-topped, squatty adobe
huts.
In many ways the social cleavage Of
this border Is sharp and startling. 1t
cuts us off abruptly from another peo-
pie, showing an odd, interesting cross
section of diverse civilizations.
Nor are all the people along this
line either Yankees or Mexicans. Thou
sands Of Chinese are settled there on
the Mexican side; and beside them
are Turks and japanese, and 20 Indian
tribes speaking 20 Of the babel Of
tongues heard in Mexico.
Thousands of settlers migrate to this
torderland each year, losing them
selves in the vast, hazy-blue stretches
Of It's open country; but they are
Americans all, mostly from the Middle
West and the South. The hordes Of
Firms, Slavs and Neapolitans that pour
into our Atlantic ports never get this
far; they stop in the manufacturing
centers of the East. In Texas and
California, Of course, native-born gen.
erations are found in the newer states
of Arizona and New Mexico most of
the residents (barring children) have
come from other states.
Rough and Difficult Trip.
Adventurous, colorful and full OF
contrasts as it is, the 1,800-mile triI
along this crooked historic line IL
rough and difficult and has been made
by few people.
Some of the widest and least known
regions Of our country are piled uI
against this border. Ask any dough
boy, of the many, many thousands wht
have done "hitch" on the Mexican
border, what he thinks, for instance
Of Ajo or the Yuma sector.
From the gulf up to Ell Paso, alont
the Texas frontier, the Rio Grandt
forms the boundary between thu
United States and Mexico; thence t.
the Pacific the line is marked by stone
or iron monuments (save short breal
at the Colorado), so set that one Il
supposed to be visible from the other
The Rio Grande 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 squlrms around In SO as
tonishing and lively manner tina
what is Mexican soil one day may b,
In Texas the next. and vice versa.
Then, too, there is the ever-recurrinl
problem Of dividing the waters Of tn
river for irrigating purposes Aroun'
such places as Laredo, Tex, this stu
alton affords many an acrimonious In
ternational argument.
No spot on the whole border afford
more Of impressive grandeur than tn
region about the mouth Of the Pecos
This yellow, turbulent stream roar
into the Rio Grande near the town o
Del Rio, foaming along the bottom Q
a steep-walled canyon worn hundred
Of feet deep in the solid rock.
Relic Of Camel Experiment.
At the old fort Mt Camp Verde, mort
Of Uvalde, In relic of one Of the ole
est experiments ever made by our 60,
eminent. 1t IL an Arab khan, In ruin
now, but In its time an exact reptile
of the rectangular adobe caravansarie
built along such caravan trails as this
from Bagdad to Teheran. This kha
was built back in 1859. when Jefferso
Davis was secretary Of war and tn
famous experiment was made wit
camels for army transport use betwee
Texas and California.
Al you follow the border west, oak
pines and underbrush decrease, aridit
increases, and cacti lift their thorn
heads. Cattle, goats and sheep Al
pastured In large numbers; but, excel
for irrigated areas along the river, Ii
country II thinly settled and undeye
oped. Border counties like Brewste
Preside and III Paso are Of amaxir
seoar--larror than some e our sms