San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-01-10
THE SUNNY SOUTH.
What a Wisconsin Editor Saw in
San Antonio.

.
San Antonio.
The following is a description OF
a visit to San Antonio by Mr.. Chas
s. Taylor, member Of the Wis
consin Press association, which re.
Gently made tour OF Texas, taken
from the Barron County Shield
of Barron, Wis:
"At the close OF the days pleas
ure and sightseeing at Galveston
the Press association eXcursionists
entered their cars for a nights ride
over the Gulf, Colorado and Santa
Fe road to Houston and from there
over the Southern Pacific to San
Antonio. We arrived at that place
about s o'clock a. m. ana the
program OF the day was q ego.
as-you-please,"-see all you could
We had been told that San An
tonic would be the most interest
ing city Of the trip, and at the
close OF the day it was unanimous
ly so voted by the party; and on
every hand the regret was ex-
pressed that another day could not
be spent there. Here, to a light
hearted, bustling present is linked
the gray-haired past; the business
and other buildings Of a modern
American city, and the quarters Of
the Mexicans are part Of the same
town the push and enterprise re-
presented in the one and that
which is quaint in the other, fur
nish constant material for the in
terest Of the sight-seer.
Most interesting of San Anto-
MOS ancient land marks is the
Alamo. This Is one of the Missions
built early in the eighteenth GEN.
fury here 1t was that in 1886 &C.
Cured the most remarkable de-
tense against a siege, and at its
close, the most cruel and inhuman
massacre, ever witnessed on this
continent.
For IL days 172 Texans in the
fastness of the Alamo, held back
5000 blood-thirsty Mexicans, and
when the brave Texans were final
ly overwhelmed, it was found that
more than 1000 Mexicans had paid
the penalty Of the seige with their
lives. Santa Anna, the brutal
Mexican general commanding, Or
dered the bodies Of the massacred
Texans piled in alternate layers
with rails and burned. Among
the slain were Dave Crock
EFT and Col. Bowie. Even
this brief mention of the
Alamo is not complete without al
fusion to the battle at San Jacinto
which occurred less than two
months later, where under the
brave Sam Houston the brave Tex.
ans surprised, and led on by the
battle cry of "Remember the Ala
no." defeated the MeXicans OF
greatly exceeding numbers, took
Santa Anna himself prisoner and
the independence ofTexas
1t is no wonder that Texans revere
the Alamo and hold sacred the
of its brave defenders.
"You have not visited San Anto-
MO unless you have seen the mis-.
sions," so it was said to US. There
are four others down the river, one
at two miles, the other four. TAX
ing carriages, the greater part of
our party visited the first two.
The first is Mission Conception,
tlfe erection of which was begun
in 1871. This mission Is well pre-
served, through the cactus and
other plants chung to its roof and
walls. Some conception Of it's age
may be gained when we remem-
Der that it's builders began their
work in the year before George
Washington was born. San Jose
Mission, two miles further down,
was the finest Of all the Spanish
Missions, the ornamental work
being done by celebrated Spanish
artist who came all the way from
Spain for the purpose. These Mis-
sions are now under lock and key,
and for "tip" are opened to sight
seers by the Mexican women who
have charge OF them. We were
among number Of our party who
visited the San Antonio Santa
rum and accepted the owners in
vitation to take another bath, and
like the surf bath it was the lat
est and best. The water is hot
about to l04 degrees, flows from an
artesian well 1890 feet deep, and is
so strongly impregnated with sui
phur that a quarter of a mile
away the air is decided
ly offensive. But the bath was
a most delightful one, and
hundreds Of invalids can testify to
it's curative properties. A mum Der
Of hn ortx,