Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-02-24

1
one of his periodical ramhIes over
the age-old trails along the Rio
Grande which carried him into
strange places end revealed strange
scenes. I went up the river pri-
marily to look for peyote, a Pc
culiar fungus, that feels like marsh
mallow candy, and for ancient oys-
ter reefs.
/ found both OF these in album
dance and, strangely enough, I
found them in the same hills and
nowhere else. Peyote seemingly,
has an affection for oyster-Shell
dust and thriVeS in the soil made
by the pulveriZation OF petrified
shells. Unless you have had expert
ence in handling peyote you would
never know where to look for 1t
and might not recognize 1t after you
had found it. II is found under a
w~eil-foliaged bush, for peyote will
not grow In the sun. 1t Is OF a dull
greeniSh color with a root reSem-
bling a long turnip and Is never
more than five inches in the ground.
It is without spineS, about three
inches in diameter and looks very
much Ike q pin-cuShion cactus in
miniature.
An article in Hollands magazine
recently irs5pired me TO look for the
strange plant, the writer having
stated that he had travelled from
the Big Bend district TO Brownsville
and found what he wEs looking for
Unexpectedly, in Starr county.
This struck me as rather odd for
I recall that while / was in charge
Of the border patrol at Eagle Pass
my work took me many times to the
Anaketcho mountains near Spofford
Junction in Kinney county and no
one of these trips up into the valley
that lies between these hills, i came
upon a scene that I shall never for
get. Beneath the hill upon which !
stood wnS a band OF Indians about
a bon fire. i am not a drinking
man and / neevr used dope in my
life and i know that I was in full
possession OF all of my senses when
/ looked at those In6ianS, but !
could not help being q little bit
nervous at the sight. ! knew that
they were real Indians-flesh and
blood IndianS-but I couldn't bring
myself to that realization until ]
had mustered up the courage &c, 60
boldly down into the camp and ad-
dress the chief who spoke to me In
perfectly good English and extended
a cordial invitation TO sit down and
have coffee with them. Then I was
convinced that all was right in my
mind and i wasn't seeing mirageS
or spirits Of departed aborigines.
They were Apache Indians from
that reservation in Oklahoma and
they were there for peyote which
they cook in the ashes of the fires
on ceremonial days and smoke the
residue from the burned roots and.
they tell me, they see wonderful
visions, float on air, ride in golden
chariots and revel in the glories
that the Mohammedan finds only in
his Seventh Heaven. i imagine that
IL Is n sensation akin to that re-
sulting from laughing gas as ad-
| ministeerd by dentists, an expert
ence has enjoyed. and In which he
went to heaven on a street a on
a golden track attended by female
angels with golden pitch forks,
which they. from time to time, .jab-
bed in my Jaw, and rammed down
my throat, the while a female devil
sat on my chest and held my hands
III n AGaAAAAC0 0AAAEs
The old chief told me that on the
SPOT where we were seated. in the
old DAYS. the CoShattee Indians liv-
ed. and from members of that tribe
in Oklahoma they got the secret OF
the peyote that grows there. These
same Apaches had been in the hab-
IL of going into old Mexico through
Eagle Pass for their peyote, but the
federal government had issued
strict orders TO the customs officials
70 refuse the Indians the right 10
bring in any more peyote, as II was
an opiate and a very dangerous one.
This the Apaches deny. They say
that Il does not make sick. and
that II is a delightful i~ntoxicant
without any after-effectS and that
IL IS one Of the Indispensable ar
ticles in their religious ceremonies
just rs necessary as the incense OF
the pale-face.
Being barred from getting q fur
ther supply in Coahuila. they were
forced to seek elsewhere for their
plant and through a fortunate cir
cumstance they stumbled upon the
secrets OF the Coshattees and found
their peyote gardens IN the lonely
valley Of the Anaketcho mountains.
The writer in Hollands speaks
Of having travelled from Del Rio
TO Carrie Springs with a native
| Mexican guide looking for peyute
but found none until he came "a
Starr county. he passed within
! smelling distance Of acres Of the
plant on the road from Del Rio tc
Carrie. I know for ] have trav-
eled the same route a thousand
times.
/ found peyote along the highway
between Roma and Zapata- About
| sixteen miles west of Roma the new
highway passes through the very
heart OF an ancient oyster reef. One
sees the petrified shells In the road,
ON the slope Of the hin and In the