EBANOS — Thirteen miles west of Mission in the small, quiet border town of Los Ebanos, a scene right out of the history books takes place nearly 100 times a day: Pedestrians and motorists float across the Rio Grande River on a ferry powered solely by five men pulling on a rope.
The Los Ebanos Ferry, or El Chalan as it is known south of the border, is the only hand-drawn ferry still in operation along the U.S./Mexico border. The ferry and inspection station was established in 1950 and it connects the town of Los Ebanos on the U.S. side to the town of Diaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The two towns are separated by a river less than 70 yards wide and an international border.