Volume XXI. 



RECREATION. 



AUGUST, J904 

 G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager 



Number 2 



A TREACHEROUS FERRY. 



W. W. BRIDGERS. 



In the latter part of September, 

 1901, I was one of a party of 4 who 

 took a trip of 20 miles up the Rio 

 Grande in quest of Chicks. Our des- 

 tination was a certain lake in Dona 

 Ana county, New Mexico, situated 

 on the opposite side of the river from 

 El Paso. The road leading up to the 

 lake took us to a point about 2 miles 

 above, where we had to cross the 

 river and drive down to our destina- 

 tion. None of the party had ever be- 

 fore been to the lake in question, and 

 our progress was to some extent the 

 result of guesswork, as wagon roads 

 led in numerous directions and there 

 was but one route to the lake after 

 turning into the river bottom. It 

 was impossible to take a crosscut, as 

 it was not safe to cross the river ex- 

 cept at some recognized ford, and be- 

 cause the numerous bosques (dense 

 growths of Mexican mesquite or tor- 

 nilla) made progress- next to imposs- 

 ible except over traveled roads. We 

 took the wrong road once and had 

 much trouble and delay in getting 

 back on the right track ; but finally 

 we reached the crossing we had been 

 directed to take. 



The Rio Grande, much akin to the 

 Nile, had, some weeks previous, been 

 out of its banks at certain points, but 

 was clearly fordable at that time and 

 place. We crossed without incident, 

 but many troubles lay ahead of us. 

 Immediately in front of us was a 

 small Mexican village, nestling at the 

 foot of the hills. There were a dozen 

 or more small adobe houses, stern, 

 uncouth and uncivilized in appear- 



ance, emphasizing the solitude of the 

 country and the inactivity of the na- 

 tive inhabitants. There were no 

 farms nor other evidences of indus- 

 try to be seen. Untouched by the 

 magic spark of civilization and prog- 

 ress, the inhabitants, though almost 

 within sight of a thriving, prosper- 

 ous, bustling and active city, were 

 content to live as their forefathers 

 had lived, whiling away the weeks 

 and years in idleness, ignorance and 

 superstition. The inevitable adobe 

 church, with its weather beaten and 

 time worn cross above the door, was 

 only about 200 yards distant, directly 

 on the road in front of us. Between 

 us and the church, however, as we 

 afterward learned to our chagrin, 

 was an impassable gulf of thick, 

 crusted mud. We suspected the diffi- 

 culties that confronted us, but did 

 not doubt that we should make the 

 passage, as the road seemed to have 

 been recently traveled. We drove 

 ahead, but the front buggy was soon 

 in the mud up to the hubs and one of 

 the horses was down and unable to 

 rise. There was nothing left to do 

 but for all hands to wade in, unhar- 

 ness the horses and back the buggy 

 out. The 4 of us had enough exer- 

 cise in the next 30 minutes to have 

 trained Jeffries for a $50,000 prize 

 fight. 



We were a sorry, sick looking, 

 mud-bespattered lot when we had 

 completed the task and were again 

 ready to resume the journey; but, 

 valiant hunters that we were, noth- 

 ing could daunt us, and after a brief 



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