The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-02-25
ma PoRT ART4uR COUNTRY.
A "Trip 70 the soarhern Port a. viewed ~
a~EeDut7fc nInn

f1E Flhl AHi FtGH COUif KY
A Trip TO the soarhern Port a. viewed ~
a-EspubIic lIan-
A representative Of TIE REFUBLIO
returned last week from a trip with
the Kansas State Editorial association
70 Port Arthur, Tex, the new sea port
at the terminal Of the K G. P. & G. on
the gulf Of AIezfeo- The association
met this year at Kansas City, Kan
but enjoyed the hospitality Of both
Of the cities ct the mouth Of the KsE.
The association, after transacting its
regular business, was taken south in
a special train OF four Pullman sleepers,
q diner and baggage car. The ssso-
eistiOn vas the guest OF the road and
nothing was too good for the compos-
tie Kansas editor. Ex-Secretary Of
State Billy Edwards, now connected
with the land department Of the P &
G., was in charge Of the excursion, and
his cesseless endeaEors to make the
trip a pleasant one to sll will in no
wise cause his boom for governor to
suffer.
Through the corn fields Of Kansas,
the orchards Of the Ozarks, the forests
of Arkansas, the pineries Of louisiana
and the cotton fields Of Texas, south
ward 786 miles from Kansas City, the
editors came to Port Arthur, Tex. All
along the line Of the P. & G., which
has tapped a practically new country,
new towns have sprung up. Mena,
the half way point, exhibits.the largest
growth and contains q population Of
1900 people. The country tributary to
it is rich in natural resources. Tim
Der, orchard and farm lands extend
in all directions, and the products
from these lands viii make Mena q
thriving business center for all time to
come.
All along the line of the P. & G. there
is timber to burn, to use a slang ex-
preston. The long-leaved southern
pine borders the road bed for hundreds
Of miles, but must soon be sacrificed
to the demand for lumber that is
keeping hundreds Of saw mills running
night and day in the towns along the
line. There are several varieties of
hard woods that are quite plentiful in
the southern timber lands touched by
the P. & G., besides the cypress and
magnolia, indigenous to this particular
portion Of America.
As the train sped southwark the
difference in climate was easily re-
marked and at Port Arthur the excur-
sion met Spring en- route north. Flow
ers we're blooming, trees in leaf, grass
growing, and, best Of all, early garden
truck was ripe At the Hotel De Sa-
bine, at which pretentiOus hosiery the
Kansas editor soothed his chronic hun
ger pains with a menu which started
of with blue points on the half shell,
included the humble. onion, the early
radish, the aristOcratic canYas- back,
and wound up with rum punch, which,
sad to relate, the strietest prohibition
lists acquired the most Of, much to the
discomfort Of the resubmission crowd.
Port Arthur is not a boom town, but is
rich burghers Of which President Still
well interested and from whom he ac-
quired the funds to build theP. &C. and
make the city the leading sea port Of
the gulf Of Mexico. The town is seven
miles from deep water and has the ad-
vantage OF being on high enough
ground to escape the necessity OF fill
ing and the danger Of destruction by
tidal waves. Sabine lake, a body Of
water 80 miles in length, and from 10
to u miles wide, borders the eastern
boundary Of the TOWNSHIP. The lake,
however, is very shallow and viii per
NIT no Ocean-going craft to navigate
its waters. To make Port Arthur a
sea port town the P. & G. must build a
ship canal from Sabine Pass to Port
Arthur. Work has already been com
menced upon the project and one Of
the largest dredgers in the world is now
at work on the canal which is to be 1S3
feet wide, seven miles long and % feet
deep. Two miles Of the canal have
been completed and the whole work
will be finished within a year.
The shipping now being loaded at
Port Arthur receive their cargOes by
means Of lighters. The Haddon Hall,
Liverpool, a steamship Of 1900 tons
burden, was being loaded from Port
Arthur while the association was there,
and will carry out as part Of its cargo
80 car loads Of Kansas wheat. The
Lenora, bound for Rotterdam, steel
steamer, was also loading, besides
about % other craft. The actual load
ing Of vessels from Port Arthur pre-
cludes any possibility OF failure and
marks an epoch when western grain
and western products will find their
way to Europe through q gateway 500
miles nearer the sea than any other
point-thrOUgh Port Arthur.
The town itself is new, and contains
about 1,5OO inhabitants, but is building
up fast with a class OF people that can
make q city great.