Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-24
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
SONORA AND THE YAQUIS

| ooNOIA<h AMI lI1G IktQClo
Just the mere headline 'YdQui
chief may be governor of Son>ra,
sounds like a Chestertonian para
dox-but then Sonora is a state Of
the sharpest contrasts" says a Dul-
letin from the Washington. u. c.,
headquarters of the National Geo
graphic Society.
Imagine western Pennsylvania
with its farms and Goa mines. and
gold and silver mines as well, with
uEsubdued tribes of thieves and kill
ers whom the state police could rot
duell, dwelling in its mountains, with
J n OF these tribesmen running for
governor. and you have only a par
tiai comprehension of Mexico's sec
ond largest state.
UNIQUE In Mineral Wealth
N other place on our continent
Is comparable to Sonora in mineral
wealth. Its history discloses inci-
dents that would have startled Croe
sus and Solomon: Indians picking
up a 600-pound nugget of pure Sill
yer and carrying 1t away on a plSt-
form slung between two mules. Inc
owner of the famous Quintera mine
who lined a bridal chamber for his
daughter with bars of silver ard
n st"'t " ia 10 NAAAo AA1o
from her home to the church. The
widow who packed her ingots on
forty mules and set out with the
over-laden beasts to Mexico City
where she sought safety for her
wealth by depositing 1t with the
Spanish viceroy. The lady disap-
peared in a manner officially IN
known and her fortune reverted to
the state.
'In modern times episodes like
these were transformed by the magic
of scientific mining and, in the
years of Mexico's normally. Sonora's
annual output Of minerals exceeded
$50. 900.
"Kick Your Breakfast on A Tree"
And yet in some parts of Sonora
you a kick your breakfast off
the trees any morning in the year.
Unlike many mining regions Sonora
also comprises areas of marvellous
fertility. Critics who hold that
Americans crossed the border at NO.
gales only to take away buried treas
ure OF gold. silver. copper, iron
coal and lead. should visit the MAN.
made Eden in the Yaqui Valley
where an American company en-
ployed the wizardry Of irrigation
to make thousands of acres bear
fruit and grain.
Before the days of Villa another
Yankee corporation had a cattle
ranch in Sonora which was sub-di-
vided into 200 pasture lands; and
overseerS were equipped with auto
mobile maps that showed trails,
fences, roads and pastures.
"Tama Yaouis'' are Soldiers
"Nebraska-sized Sonora sends its
SON to American schools, and buys
American autos. shoes, monographs.
sewing machines, and golf clubs. 1t
tanned its treacherous Apaches ard
put them to work on farms. 1t
lined up many Yaquis but even a
tame Yaqui.' or Manzos, must fol-
low his natural bent, so he Is en-
remains about al the Spaniard found
him-fighting, raiding. always equip
ped with a water gourd and a
weapon, and nowadays wearing
sandals Of green cowskin. He sleeps
with a corner of his mind awake for
tha sound of the dried-skin signal
drum. The sound of that, said
one Mexican officer. always gives
the enemy an earache.'
Where Rocks are Natural Belle
1lt LULU LILY VI oeduly -
the capital of the resonant state,
and close by the capital is the Hill
Of the Bells'-to translate the mean
ingful native names. Sonora is ce-
rived from 'S%onorous.' Ell Cerro de
las Campanas. is the hill near Her.
mosillo, the capital, which gave the
state its name. The rock in this hill
gives a bell-like sound when it is
struck, and the same sort of white
marble is found in other parts of
the state.
"On the same latitude line as Her
mosillo, in the Gulf of California
which bounds Sonora's entire west
coast. lies Shark Island, or Tiburon.
A Mexican guidebook mildly men,
tons that visitors to the island are
unwelcome.' 1t has not been many
years since this lack Of welcome
meant almost certain death. There
art tales of c%annibalism among the
Serbs who fish with how and arrow,
and poison the arrow when they go
cunning for human enemies.
"Alligators and crocodiles insest
the coast of Sonora; black bears
and grizzlies, leopards and lions
abound in the mountains"