Year: 1876

Vi Gu0


GA strip of country about twenty miles
wide on each side of the river is covered
with what is called in Mexico 'chapar-
ral.' 1t is thicket of tropical or semi
tropical shrubs, which, on account OF
its density and the immense thorns with
which is thickly covered, Is literally i'm
penetrable except where trails have
been cut through it. I hardly know how
1 can convey to you definite idea of its
character, but you may Judge something
of the difficulties of campaigning In
such country when tell you that, al,
though two trails may extend almost
parallel with each other and not more
than fifty yards apart, still it Is often
necessary to travel as far as seven or
eight miles in order to find APPOINT where
it is possible to pass from one to anoth-
or. 1t is like thicket of enormous
thistles fifteen feet high, with thethorns
hard and woody and as large as your


finger. It is almost impossible to get
ones way through it. The best corps of
sappers and miners that 1 ever saw
would hardly advance one hundred
yards a day through this chaparral.
Along the river banks there has been
constructed road, but the river is 80
crooked that this trail does not followall
of its bends, 80 that, while at times it
touches the brink of the river, at others
it will be from half mile to mile away.
This road itself as it extends through the
chaparral is far from being straight, 80
thatit is rarely possible when riding
along it to see any object more than
few hundred yards ahead.


Extending at right angles from the
general course OF the river through the
chaparral, are trails ten or twelve miles
apart, aud sometimes at shorter inter
walls. These .ext nd out into the open
prairie, and are the only means of COM
munication between the grazing lands
and the river. The Mexican raiders
rarely cross the Rio Grande in force.
They meet tsome point on the Mexican
side and agree to reassemble several
days later at some rancho or river on the
American side, each one driving In the
cattle which in the meantime he may
have stolen. Having arranged their
plans, they cross the river in squads of
two or three, or five in each, at different
points, and pass on through the chapar-
raj from 100 to $50 miles into the in
terror of Texas. Each squad selects
from the herds in the section assigned
to it the best cattle, and at the appoint
ed time proceeds to the redezvous
agreed upon. The cattle are then all
placed in one herd, and, everything be-
ing ready, they start for the river as
rapidly as possible. Generally the raid
ers reach the river, or are very near to
it, before anything is learned OF their
movements by those in command of
troops and then, owing to the charac-
ter of the country which l have de-
scribed, and the rapidity with which the
Mexicans move, it is seldom that they
can be overtaken. With my men have
often arrived on the bank of the river
after long chase and seen the Me2i-
cans encamped on the other side with
the cattle in their possession. They are
very saucy, and sometimes challenge us
in a very insulting way to come over and
get the stock, knowing very well that
we cannot do it.


"You remarked that these cattle
thieves penetrate from 100 to $50 m les
into Texas" said reporter; "is it not
dangerous for them to venture 80 far
away from the riveri"


There is very little danger" he re-
piled. "These depredations have been
going on so long that nearly all the
cattle in Texas which formerly grazed
on belt of country from fifty to one
hundred miles wide, and bounded by the
river, have been stolen and the ranches
DESTROYED. That belt of country, three
hundred or four hundred miles long, is
almost destitute of population. The
settlers have almost no means of COM
munication with each other, and even if
it was known that a band Of Mexicans
was about to make raid, it would gen.
eyally be impossible to get together
sufficient force of Texans to make any
determined resistance. Besides this,
the Texan rancheros do not dare to make
any resistance, or even to give informa-
ton when they have been robbed.


From my description of the charac-
ter of the country you will see how diff
cult it is to intercept band OF Mexl-
cans, even when information Of one of
these incursions has been obtained. On
one occasion 1 informed the comman-
dant OF the United States troops that
raid in force was to be made at or about
a certain date, and that the cattle would
be driven across the river at given
point. He stationed two companies OF
cavalry in the chaparral at short dis
tauce apart, deployed men on either
side, in order to intercept the party as
it passed. But the Mexicans passed be-
tween the two companies without be-
ing discovered until they had nearly
reached the river. Then the soldiers
followed them, and arrived just in time
to see them drive the cattle ont on the
other side. A few shots were exchanged,
and the NJ xicans were obliged to aban-
don few of the cattle that were mired
in the mud, but escaped with most OF
them"


"Are these Mexicans good fighters 2"
asked.


eyes, sir" was the reply, "they will
stand killing as well as any people I
ever saw. If any one expects to gain
much glory in fighting superior numbers
of these Mexican raiders, he will be very
much mistaken. It is fact that the
Mexiesns Of shs interior are not very