Year: 1875

PerpIexing Difficulties.

 From the Colorado river westward for many miles, the United States mail stages run over Lower California, and it would be very hard indeed to avoid the present route. The Mexican au- thorities allow United States troops, vehicles and our people the privilege of passing over it. Whether or not they guarantee us any protection other than international laws give, we do not know, but certain it is employees of the mail carriers have little or no protection. Within the past five years, several of them have been killed and others robbed, On night of the 18th of August, as we learn by The Senti- nel, three men came to New River sta tion, bound John White (statiOn-keep- er) with ropes, robbed him of $55, his clothing and such other articles as they could carry off When daylight came, Mr. White being still bound fast, he called to some MeXicans camp. ed near by for assistance, but they rode off after taking look athim. Final ly he succeeded in gnawing the rope in two and thus released himself. The Sentinel doubtless expresses the senti ments of the people about Yuma on this subject, and it says:

 These things have occurred so often that it seems as though the government should take some measures to protect our citizens along and near the line Patrol stations could be easily estab lished, and no great force of men re quired to protect the whole line, The recent case of the robbery of New Riv er station, is the same old thing, and the same thing will continue until strong measures are taken to strike ter TOT to the hearts of these border ban dits. If the government still neglects to give protection to its own mails and to its citizens along the line, we are thrown upon the last resort, seIfprotec ton. We are no fillibuster, in fact we have always strongly opposed the prin ciple. But it is not only an old, but 8 true saying that selfpreservation is the first law of nature. To this we may soon have to resort, as the people Ot Texas did many years ago,

 Does The Sentinel think the Mexi can government would permit the United States to establish patrol sta tions " on Mexican soil? Possibly sucI permission would be given, but we doubt it, for that government seems tC rather protect than punish its people for crimes committed on the person ol property of citizens of the United States. And right here is the perplex ing difficulty. We are at present al most forced to pass and carry our mails over the route now in use and hence over Mexican soil, and the remedy The Sentinel proposes in lieu of govern ment protection, would very likely lead to a revocation of the permission to pass over it, Even if the desert DOT nOn of the route iu Mexico. could bo dispensed with, which d. present would be attended with great inconve- nience, if we understand the country aright, there is still another section of the road near San Diego, on Mexican soil. In view of these facts, we repeat the subject is perplexing. Our station keepers have been treated barbarously and so far as we know, the guilty ones have gone unpunished. If the road were on our soil, we should join in the strongest appeals for military patrol stations, and if it is possible to have our troops on Mexican soil to protect our people, we go for placing them there, The Sentinel says further:

 It is plain to all intelligent men that we can have no peace or security along this frontier while the line is allowed to remain where it is. That llne must be pushed down to the sea, and into the sea. It must be wiped out. It is inevitable, and the sooner it is done the better.