The Grenada sentinel., 1921-09-16
INTERESTING LETTER
FROM new MEXICO
Miss Van Osdel Writes Interesting
and Descriptive Letter to Mrs. E.
i. Sanderson From New Mexico

The following letter WIS received
by Mrs. +. L. Sanderson, Of near Tor
rance, from her niece, Miss Jessie
Van Osdel, who is visiting Capt. and
Mrs. l. w. Crawford in Columbus,
New Mexico. The letter was not in
tended for publication but it contains
such descriptive and interesting mat
ter pertaining to that section of the
country which the Sentinel felt its
readers would like to know, that per-
mission was granted by Mrs. Sander
son to publish it:
oath Infantry, Columbus, n Mex
leo, August p, 1921.
Dearest Aunt Sallie:
1t has long been my intention to
write you a letter about the country
where / am so pleasantly domiciled
just at present, and describe the
sights and scenes which are for the
most part, so different from those at
home. | have given you snapshots
in my other letters, know, but they
have been so intermingled with home
and personal affairs that | doubt
whether you have gotten very clear
picture OF the whole.
It IS bright, Sunshjny Sabbath
morning about eleven o'clock. Miss
Winifred Crawford assisted by her
mother. Is enjoying an ablutiOn prior
to her morning rap; Captain Ivy has
gone down TO his company barracks;
and / am comfortably enscOnced in
the swing on the front porch, so look
out for a long eplStle.
II is really church time here and
l suspect that the people at home are
just about leaving their respective
houses OF worship as the time is an
hour later there than here. We
should he AZ church. too, | know bur
] regrt ~ay tla in the
Tie tex, to hit ava -
ligious things OF Ii .44,.s it is
NOR excusable in Al, though, than
and prefer a mid-rlorning nap to the
services of the sanctuary, for the Of
ticers of an army post and especially
one like this where there is a short
age Of otficcrs-have an almost un-
limited amount of work to do. They
must be constantly on the Job Sun
cay as well as other days; there are
a thousand and one details that de-
rnand unceasing thought and atten-
tion-the personal duties, wants, and
grievances of every soldier in a
company as we'll as the training and
responsibility of the company as a
whole. The only thing with which
] can compare it is the daily, never
ending routine Of a housewife, who
does her own work. And then, Ivy's
position as Judge advocate of the
court-martial just about doubles his
regular work.
IN spite OF Ivy's busy life. now
ever, he fnds-Or takes-time TO
drive Us about the country quite
bit in the car. We have been a num-
Der Of miles in all directions from
Columbus. There IS only one road
going out from here that is at all
well kept up. that is the one which
runs directly north TO Deming some
thlrty-tive miles away. 1t is about
like the jefferson Davis Highway at
home. The other roads about are al
most literally ''calf-paths." Some
man, or perhaps animal, starts trail
over the plain; others follow it or
devlate from it as suits convenience,
and thus road is made. After
crossing the Mexican border three
miles south of here, one fnds very
good road. The military road built
and used by General Pershing when
he carried his troops into Mexico in
1916.
By the way, did you remember that
Columbus was the place raided by
Villa and his bandits in 1916? AL l.
most in sight Of camp here is the shell .
of a once beautiful home built by a
wealthy New York man and looted
by the Mexicans on their raid. The
man himself was killed, but his wife |
escaped by hiding in the mesquite l.
bushes, though she went insane from
the fright and the shock.
The vegetation in this region con-
sists Of mesquite, chaparral, and diff
ferent varieties Of cactus. Among
the cacti, the yucca is most plentiful. i
There are little forests Of it all about.
It looks like dry grass tied up in
bundles with punches Of green at the
top; some stalks grow twenty or thir-
ty feet tall. The natives sometime
use the stalks for building purposes ,
or for fuel Mesquite roots are also
used for fuel. ,
Animal life here, though not plenti-
ful, is interesting. There are rattle ,
than we have at home-tarantulas
horned toads; and many varieties of
lizards. The horned toads are hid
iously ugly but quite harmless and
easy to tame. Some people make
pets of them and keep them about
the house to catch flies, ants, etc.
should like to carry home some of
the toads and tarantulas if possible. .
The former is an easy proposition, |
but the latter is more Of a problem {
TO tackle. They look like huge black
spiders. They move by long leaps:
and their, bite is deadly poisonous. If {
they simply ran or crawled as spiders i
do, collecting them might be rare ]
sport, but / haven't quite enough /
courage to face the possibility Of
having one come leaping toward me.
The soil of this southwestern land I
ooks terriblv moor and barren hut It {