When I left Mangum I promised a great many of my friends that I would tell them what I thought of Mexico, through the columns of the STAR.  I have delayed some time in order to form some ideas through actual experience about the country, and I have only had a limited time yet to do this, but I think from what I have observed and learned from reliable sources, I can tell a man something about this country, that will interest him.

We had a wearisome trip.  We were delayed at Eagle Pass by the custom house officers about four days.  It seems like before the Mexican authorities will receive goods of any kind for shipment, they have to be properly weighed and marked in kelos on the American side.  This kind of work is carried on our side of the river at Eagle Pass by Mr. J.N. Shafter, and he tried to expedite matters as much as possible, but you can imagine what kind of a job it is to weigh and assort ten or twelve car loads of goods that were as badly mixed up as possible, and I want to state here for the benefit of those of the colony who are to follow, to put each article separate (sic) if possible:  for instance, put glassware to itself, put silverware to itself, don’t mix your tinware with your cast iron pots, etc.  Don’t put your looking glass in with a lot of pictures and have to separate them at Eagle Pass when  you haven’t time nor space for it.  For a thorough understanding I mean just what I said, when I said pack each article to itself, and mark it so that you can tell the custom house officer just what is in it.  Don’t bring any chairs at all, they are cheaper here than in Oklahoma, don’t start out with a safe unless you knock it down, if you do it will get knocked down before you get to Chamal Ranch anyway.  Don’t bring anything in the way of stock, except something that is good, you can get ponies and small mules here of the same class of those in Oklahoma, if not superior, but they are all small.  You should bring plenty of light clothing, you will not need any heavy ones.  I haven’t had my over coat on since I landed at this ranch.  Put in several pairs of shoes, wear each pair enough to get the bottom roughed up a little:  put all your clothing and shoes in as baggage and you need not bring too many hats for you will want one with a broader brim anyway very soon after you get here.  Don’t forget to boil two or three hams to use on the road and bring plenty of ground coffee.  You don’t need to bother about dogs, you can get plenty of them in this country, but of course, they are just dogs, that’s all.  There are some hogs here, also, that seem to enjoy eating out of a jar and looking you in the face at the same time, and they have the habit of sticking their nose into other peoples business, they are that much human.  The natives here generally have some chickens, but they keep no kind but game scarcely, and if you wish any other kind you should bring a few, not too many.

It is about 50 miles from Escandon to Chamal headquarter ranch, and it is a very rough road after you get within fifteen miles of Chamal headquarter ranch.  I like this country very well so far, the weather is real pleasant.  I suppose a thermometer would register about 65 or 70 degrees.  We have none to test temperature with, I wish we had one.  We have had three rains since I have been here and grass is growing nicely; trees are in bloom, those I mean that are not ever greens.

The natives are a very kind hearted people, they seem to want to make it as pleasant for us as that (they) can.  There is more good land on this tract than I expected to find, I am confident there is 60,000 acres of good cultivatable land on this ranch, there is very fine pasture land on the north end of the ranch.  There is more game here than I ever saw any where, we have had venison until we are simply tired of it, we have plenty of turkey also.

It is almost impossible to describe this tract of land to any one.  It is simply a large tract of land almost entirely surrounded with high mountains.  All the men are well satisfied and all the women except one or two are well satisfied and I think what few are not satisfied will be all O.K. when we get houses constructed, so we can get in out of the weather.

The idea seemed to prevail in Oklahoma Territory when I left that this tract of land was a large body of land in the shape of a horseshoe and all inside this horse shoe was a level palm thicket and that every foot of it was just this way.  I wish to get this idea corrected, there are several creeks and branches, and one or two small rivers on this place and there is all kind of land in this horse shoe as they call it:  if all in this horse shoe was as they imagined it was, there would be 100,000 cultivatable land on this ranch.  You must not expect too much out of the natives in the way of work, you can’t always get them just when you want them.  We have set the price of their labor per day at three days for one dollar, this is the way you have to figure with them.  We are getting out timber to build our houses with now, and I am of the opinion that we will get moved into our new town and go to work right in about ten days. 

We have had no sickness at all to amount to anything.  We have a good physician with us and he has a good large stock of drugs with him.

Well as this is my first letter to a newspaper, I suppose I had better not make it too long.  I truly hope the parties who are to follow us will read this carefully and they many save themselves some trouble at the custom house, also some time, for I want you to be impressed with this idea that they will classify and weigh everything you have with you and if you carry it there mixed up they will separate and expect it to remain that way until you pass through the Mexican custom on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

Yours Truly.
J.B. OVERTON