Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
more took charge of my pals, and he certainly knew how to look after them! One half of the
4thFieldArtillerywasstationedinPanama,andtheotherinFortMackintosh,soImetseveral
officers and men whom I had known whilst we were in the Canal Zone. My horses certainly
took full advantage of 'Uncle Sam's' oats and the variety of excellent fodder that was system-
atically given to them, and Mancha seemed to be feeling as proud and honoured as I did when
the troops passed in review before us.
At last I was able to buy myself a complete outfit of clothes, which I needed to attend the
many parties, dances and luncheons to which I was invited, and later I always sent my trunk
ahead from one town to another.
During my delightful stay in Laredo I had another slight attack of malaria, and I shall al-
ways remember the kind way in which both the commanding officer of the fort and his wife
looked after me. When I left the border to follow the highway towards San Antonio, a moun-
teddetachmentaccompaniedmeforsomedistanceandthebandplayedusoutofthepost.The
civilian authorities had extended every courtesy to me, and the public and the Press had giv-
en us an enthusiastic welcome, so after the mounted detachment had left us to return to Fort
Mackintosh I watched them disappear in the distance, and when the skyline of Laredo began
to fade away, I could not help saying, 'I hope it's only “au revoir,” Laredo!'
To describe my ride through the States in full would be somewhat dull, owing to the sim-
ilarity of conditions in most places, but it may be of interest to mention some of my impres-
sions and observations, also some of the difficulties I met with - difficulties I never expected
to find. Concrete roads are excellent for cars, but they are very tiring and hard on horses; and
heavymotortrafficmakeshorsebackridinganythingbutpleasant.Today,also,theproblemof
stabling horses in American towns is not as simple as it was once. Stables have given way to
garages in most villages and towns, and sometimes even on farms. Taking all in all, I believe
I enjoyed my trip through Texas and Oklahoma more than through the Eastern States, but this
may have been because everything in America was then new to me.
Between Laredo andSanAntonio there isverylittle tosee, foronce Ihadridden outaday,
I came to the end of the cultivated land, and the country much resembled the part between
Monterrey and Laredo in Mexico. Coarse shrubbery is about all that grows there and only at
long intervals did we pass some wooden farmhouses that are none too tidy or clean in appear-
ance. An irrigation system has been planned on a gigantic scale by which water of the Rio
Grande will some day make a fertile plain out of this region. Land speculators and real estate
agents have already been busy down there, and once a week a special train of 'home seekers',
as the Texans call the prospective land buyers, are brought down from the North to have a
look at the place, which is boosted sky high. I saw two or three of these trains come down,
andsomehow Icouldnothelpcomparing them with thecattle trains weareaccustomed tosee
in the Argentine, on their way to the freezing plants. Out of every window hung two or more
heads, looking at 'The Promised Land'. Undoubtedly these regions will give big returns some
day, but I am afraid the buyers will not live to enjoy them.
