The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-11-02
BILL APPS TALK.
Arp Writes Another Letter From Te


Arp Writes Another Letter From Texas.
ApZ1sata Cbsastfttttsora-
This is the jumping off place, reckon,
and ought to bo CALLED Lands End In
stead of Midland. 1t II 80 miles went
of Fl. Worth aad il another 80 miles TO
Ell Psso. I did not know WIS on the
plains until / walked up this morning.
It Is all cattle and horses AID sheep out
here. Ne Gotten or corn. no potatoes or
cabbage, no nothing but grass and
boundls,s prairiss. No vegetation caa
stand the long summer droughts except
the grass and that uuffaro somstimes.
But there il plenty Of water about thirty
feet underground and the windmills
bring it up, for tho wind ID ever blowing,
and the air is full of sand nuch of the
time. A drummer said "thsy have to
climb for water and dig for fuel" az
most of the wood they nae is roots dug
out Of the ground, roots of the mesquite
trees. This town supplies the ranch
men for a hundred milsa north aud
south, and has fine trade. The msr-
chants carry large stocks of gsoda, esps.
cially canned goods and California fruits.
The windmills are everywhere. Icouat.
ed seventeen In view from my window.
One man who has ranch twenty miles
square told mo he had forty-eight Of
them ort there and keeps . mechanic
hired to keep them In order, But ranch
ing is q hard life, aud if there is any fun
In it, it is of a coarss, rugged kind. Iii.
not 80 demoraliziug as it used TO be.
The preachers and the teachers have
brought schools and churches within
reach of the cowboys, and they don't
mind riding twenty or thirty miles to
mingls with Christian people about once
week. A ranchman's horao is like the
Arabs camel-it is bis ship Of the desert.
All along the line from Abilene I
watched the prairie dogs from the Car
window. There are thousands and thou.
sands of them, and they are 80 tame that
the older ones will not run to their holes
on approach of the train. The young
ones scamper away and tumble in like
school boy tumbles into the millpond.
Their burrows have a funnel.shaped top
with dirt around like sn ant hill, and
you can gee them twenty or thirty fest
apart among the mesquite trees as far as
the eye can see at all. This little ami
NAL is rodent about tho size Of gray
squirrel with brown back sad whitish
breast. They stand up like squirrel
and use their forapaws for hands and eat
the roots and grass In the same way.
They are species of guinea pig, though
not 30 pretty. 1t is said that if you hold
up guinea pig by the tail his eyes will
drop out. The prairie dog'u eyss will
not for be has tail while the guinea
pig has none. The old story that rat.
tlesnake and an owl and prairie dog
all live in the Same hole Is not true.
Rev. Dr.. Cochran, who il q man Of oh
told me that sometimes sts
snake did go down into the burrow, but
1t was either deserted one, or else hs
Was after the dog and he got him, too.
he says he has seen dozen dogs carry
ing grass and roots and gravel to stop up
8 snake that had eraulsd in q hole, and
they packed it tight by humping it with
their heads and 30 destroyed the snake.
In such cases they raise great commo.
ton, and show signs of skill and inge
nuity. What these little creatures are
good for has not been discovered. They
would be good to eat if it was not for
their musky, musty odor.
Mexicaus ara quite common here and
some OF them are good looking, espe.
cially the children. There are more
Mexiosns than negroes. I have seen
but one negro in Midland. I asked a
last night on the train how far
it was to Midland. He smiled, shook
his head and said something about "Ma.
heko," which meant that he did not I'm.
derstand me. They are allowed to travel
in the white folks car, while the negroes
are not, though we sometimes see mu-
lstto negroes who are wbitsr thar the
Msxicans. Conductors are very strict
about that in Texts, for it is $25 penalty
for every breach of the law. No white
man is allowed to ride in the negro's car
and vice verso. Even Sheriff with a
negro prisoner must ride in the car for
Che whites, 40 saya the Attorney General
of the State.
"Turn Texas loose" is the battle cry
of the CLARK men now. They say that
Governor Hogg's policy is against rail.
roads and aliens and foreign capital, and
that he has shut down on all progresu
and has driven foreign capital away.
"Turn Texas loose" is seen everywhere
heard everywhere. Hogg says in re-
ply: "You tried to initiate your towns
like balloon and because the bubble
burst you lay it on Hogg. Around Dal-
lss and Fort Worth and other cities you
turned your cotton fields into town lots
and because you coulden't catch suckers
you say Hogg did It." Even some of the
preachers have taken the stump and they
draw upon the sacred scriptures for their
witnesses, just like ours did during the
war and just before. In the meantime
Nugent and the Peoples Party behind
him are still hunting for votes and as
usual are claiming the State. met tho
noblest Roman Of them all at Me1ia.
.Tudpe Pondergrast ia his name. He is