Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-08-12
A TEXAN ABROAD.
A Trip by Rail From Fort Worth to Knox.
vile Notelets Taken BY the Way.
Arkansas a Wilderness Compared to Texas
"A View Of Memphis and
Nashville.
Special Correspondents OF the oase,te.

hNoxvILLE, TENN, Aug. 5.-The
reason that Moses never wrote about
a trip by rail was probably because
there were no railroads in his day, but
certain It is that every modern writer
has given the subject much time and
space. m
am now In Knoxville, Tenn, en-
joying the benefits OF a climate that
lacks nothing but Texas south breeze
laden with the perfume Of oleanders
and the music of the gulf wave.
left Fort Worth on tho morning of
the I'd inst, and barring little in
cidens about |" baggage checks" by
which Harry Furmau, Sam Farmer,
Jim Courtripht and several other en-
terprisiny Fort WORTHLESS attempted TO !,
disconipose me, the town of
s1ERETTvILLE
was reached without any excitement.
AT this point twenty-five or thirty |
men were waiting for the Fort Worth |
GAZETTE, which they seemed to read |
with much pleasure. Passing on east
ward 1t was noticeable fact that the |
farther we went, signs of thrift and en-
the pine timber region north OF
Marsi was reached. Here the small
stations were surrounded by countless
thousands of feet Of lumber and a
squad Of dirty, filthy negroes. Al one
OF these stations gentleman got on
the train and determined to sound
him on the subject of
FREE GRASS.
After becoming fairly acquainted
asked him what his people thought of
the lease law: oh" said he, 1.-THE
lease law don't affect us aud am net
In favor Of giving the children's grass
to cattlemen without they pay for it,"
But don't you think tnisa law will
throttle the growth of Western
Texas?n
"Let it throttle; Texas is big enough,
after you take out 80, 000, 900 acres oi
school lands, for all purposes Of emf
grafton. This westward rush is all
nonsense when East and southern
Texas offer such Inducements as they
do to the emigrant."
then asked him to name the most
fiourishing and progressive cities In
the state, and he said Dallas and
Fort WORTH l then asked him III he
honestly believed they would have
reached their present proportions II
the lease law had been in operation
fifteen years ago? And IL Dallas,
Tarrant, Johnson and the adjoining
counties to the west would to-day have
been what they are II legaiized en-
barge had been thrown in the face OF
the emigrant In the shape Of large
i1closed pastures in these countless
He was candid enough to say he
thought in that case the tide Of emf
/. grafton would have turned into other
. channels, but wound up by saying
, the id cattlemen would have al
the grass, lease or no lease, and he vas
for making them pay for it,"
From this IL Will he seen that Eas
!, Texas, or at least some of the citizens
a of that section, favor the lease law sim
: ply because they are not benefited b,
!. free grass. Prejudice against the cattle
y men was prominent In every terse wei
/. rounded sentence of this East Texan
! He admitted that the lease law retard
i ed the progress and development of hi
!. state, but favored IL on the ground o
his prejudice against cattle kings.
: lost my supper at Texarkana OF
Z account of what seems to me to be al
!, absurdity. When the train pulled III
!, at the station learned tina
according to the law II ha,
! to wait thirty minutes before II conl,
9 cross the state line, while the neares
t dinipg.room was nearly quarter OF
mile up the platform. When l fount
n out " here the dining room was wa
n too late for the meal. This quaran
= tine against hungry man. made nj
y unhappy all night. Under this law
: lsuppose the same thing could occur "a
I. any point on the state line where it /
e crossed by railroad.
/. ARKANSAS
IL wilderness rs compared viii
= Texas, aud after passing through Ii
5 swan.ps and woodland was glad I
= embark on the Memphis d Little Roe
railroad, which is one of the bes
= appointed lines in my route, an
I. the seductive charms of sleepe
j. made me forget the loss of my suppe
/! and made mental comparisons cas-
between the thrift and vigor OF Fol
Worth and the sleepy, Rip.Van- Win
r., kle-loOking towns along the side G
q, this railroad.
G. MEMPHIS
O. renind, d me of pictures ] have see
= OF Constantinople. We crossed In
!. river OH the deck of steamboat /
81 the early morning, while laz
70 smoke was curling over the eli
aud floating northward towar
-, us. Memphis has classics
a look of antiquity about IL which woul
i, make Texas city odiOus in the sigt
Q, of Texan. On landing in the cit
q q and looking, not without feeling
,e contempt, on the muddy waters OF th
Mississippi, inquired for mornin
paper aud was told that no daily papel
y were published In that city on Mord 4
b, morning. Fifty-iive thousand peoplei
ID a city that does not issue single Moi
70 day morning daily newspaper.
: thought that 1t WAS great pity tn,
= Memphis was not as near to Fo
n Worth ~ Sierettviile In order thu
II THE GAzETTEc could supply the either
"a with Monday morning Is paper.
i. After leaving Memphis, the fir
"a place that claimed more than passin
o. notice WAS the town of Marlin, wheI
ii saw pretty girls enough 10 make III
wish that this town was moved bodil,
girls and all, In the corporate limits I
y Fort Worth. Possibly II about II
pounds clothed In white that met o
: the train would emigrate ] would h
y satisfied.
n AT M'KENzfE
where changed cars for Nashvill
:. ri, Cd on the platform at I'd
o'clork In the afternoon an
sawH eight white men indulgin
In the mysterious delights of the Adai
and Eve game Of "cr0quet." Nea
y them in q grove eleven able-bodied M
n groes were wildly gesticulatlDg an
| ....~ais,,, n~a.. h;rt a. x..lif ,fn0 oa ~,