The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-06-10
DOwN IN TEXAS.
ELI Perkins Visits the Ancient Cathe
drnIs-He Discovers a Lost Man.

Eli Perkins Visits the Ancient Cathe
drAis-He Discoversa Lost Man.
s,eclsl Corresponds o the Chicago Trioun,
San Antonio, Texas. May 20-This morn
y ing 1 rode down the San Antonio river ,S
visit the old Spanish lissions. There they
still stand, three and six miles below Sar
Antonio. The Missions are old ruined
Spanish csthedrals, $50 years old. They
were built by former generation of monks
and Je:uits, who came TO San Antonio
founded the town, and built splendid STONE
csthedrsls with richly carved stone door.
ways and grand domes; and thin the whole
race seems to have dried up and faded from
the face Of the earth.
hierarchy here in San Antonio, with Bshop s
and hundreds OF priests and nuns, who re-.
ported to the great Cardinal, whose office is
still filed by another Cardinal in Nicaragua
1t is not generally known that fer over 100
years before Cardinal McCloskey wore his
red hat and scarlet robes in New York, thew
have had n Cardinal in Nicaragua. | wen,
across the Mediterranean TO the great Catho.
lie convocatlon in Rome in 1867 with the Mic,
arsaua CARDINAL, and returned from Rome
over the Alps in the same coach. He tray
eled with . liveried servant, basket of wine
and big fl,gon of brandy, with which he
treated the passengers as if they We're com.
mon tourists. But every morning noticed
that all the Catholic passengers used to
kneel to him and kiss the Cardinals anne
thyst ring.
These old Missions below San Antonio
are now deserted. The monks Quarters
are used bv degenerate Mexcans AS mule
stable. Probably the most ignorant Mexi,
can snd the most ignorant Catholic Oh
earth, now shelters himself and family of
mu' es, children and boys, and pigs in those
windowless c!oisters. When asked ono OF
them who WAS President of the United
State, he didn't know.
"Did you ever hear of General Grant,"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
"Who was George Washington"
His head nodded mo" again.
"Did you ever hear of Christi"
SYes," he said; and he pointed to our Ssyior's
image on an old glass csndleslck, and went
on smoothing down his greasy hair.
The Mexicans about San Antonio are tle |
filthIess race in the world. A Russian Mouik |
who wears sheepskn shirt til it drors Ctf |
is not half as dirty. A Comanche Iodisn
with dirty talow on his hair would make
very clean Mexican.
GENUINE SURPRISE.
On the way back from the Catholic Mis-.
sions W sto pped a! ranch on the b ,nks of |
the , n a tonic river, shout mile from |
San Autonio, and rightia the midst of these
ruined Spanish cslhedrals and irrigstire
canals. Around the ranch were green fields |
OF corn breast high, some dogs good enough |
for the Westchester dog show. and The |
hsndsomest horses ever saw. The propri.
etor came out dressed 10 bsggy brown linen
pantaloons, bed ticking suspenders, and
Yankee chip hat turned up behind like
Joshua Whitcombs. He was very hand.
some man, tall, muscular, with manly brow,
features tit for model, and rich, full voice, |
which spoke pure English. l thought al
Cnce, what handsome man. How did YOU
come down here on ranch?
"Yes," he ssid addressing my friend,
my two men are sick, and I'm working
like slave myself. Yesterday dug out
that irrigsting ditch, and I've drawn III
loads of manure this spring myself, and
spread it on the land too. Look! nv hands
are all callous.
what are you using manure on this rich
land here for?" l asked.
"Well, the old Spsnisrds exhausted it, 1t
looks black and rich, but the life is all out of
y, L want to set out a field of tobacco
Tobacco. you know, takes good soil. I've
raised tobacco in Connecticut, and l believe
can demonstrate that the best tobacco
land in the world is in Texas. You won't
believe is-you wouldn't believe man
would be such foo!-but l tell YOU. sir.
am working here tor an idea. want
TO prove that crops can be raised here, and
splendid crops too, without irrigation. Come
and see the horses" he said, leading the
way behind the house.
"Fhey arc the finest in Texas" said nv
friend. "Thst mare can 90 in $50, and
either OF these stations is worth SS,OOO."
"But who is the handsome hermit, I
asked, whose shirt is wet with honest sweat,
who tolls for an idea, and who has $4,000
horses? p
"Thst," he said, sis tho Rev. Adirondack
Murray l Introduced him rs Murray,
But what is the eloquent Boston pastor,
and the author of that charming book of
summer travels in the Adirondacks. doing
here? What's the secret? AS Gen. Butler
would say. Who is shei"
"Ths!s it, said my friend, as he hit q fy
IN his morse with the whip; 50 man may
owe beautiful woman, and with her hell Is
PARADISE. ELI PERKINS.
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