Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-06-09
an acquaintance and naturally

an acquaintance and naturally he
wanted to know who l was. told him
was employed by the Rock Island
railroad the same as he. Then he did
treat me nice for l had him under
stand if the other cars were for the
white people, they should not ride in
hte cars set apart for negroes. After
we had talked it over he invited me
home with him after we got to Fort
Worth. l accepted and I was never
treated nicer in my life than he treated
me in Fort Worth. He has lovely
home, No. 1918 East Twelfth street. l
took dinner with him.
Well, about this time my train came
over the Texas & Pacific, which is
called the Queen and Crescent route.
My friend saw me off safe. My next
stop was Dallas, Texas, the garden spot
of Texas. l only had a few minutes
there, so l am unable to say anything
about Dallas, but from what l could see
from the station Dallas must be very
good town. I think I shall stop off on
my way back about the 14th of June.
After leaving Dallas going south my
next place was Marshall Junction,
Texas This place (MarshalD is quite
a nice place, with about seven or eight
thousand people. To my surprise
met Prof. Berry Hubbard, a cousin of
mine, principal in the Texas University
at Marshall There met quite num-
Der of teachers, namely Jones, Smith
and Thompson. Only having an hour
there had no time to visit in the city.
This was about IL o'clock Sunday
noon. Then we left for Shreveport.
La. BY this time l had company in
my Jim crow car. After we were about
eighty miles from Marshall there were
165 eXcursionists got on at a little viii
lage They had come from Shreveport
out to what we call basket meeting
in village church, and while on with
the excursionists I met quite a few
young ladies and gentlemen. We ar
rived in Shreveport, La. about $3.50 in
the afternoon and we all went to the
ice cream parlors and from there to the
St. Paul's A. NJ. f. church to Christian
Endeavor, and strange to say the
church was crowded to the door. The
young people seem to take more active
parts in church work than they do in
Des Moines. After the EndeavOr we
all went to lunch and from lunch to
the Avenue Baptist church. In this
part of the country the Baptist
churches control the state so far as
church work is concerned, for the state
of Louisiana has 125.000 colored men,
bers of the Baptist denomination and
IS, 900 Methodists in the state. After
spending Sunday evening and all night
in Shreveport, left for Monroe over
the V. S. & P. R. R., where met sew
eral of my sisters and brothers, and
none of them knew me until l told
them who l was and had quite nice
time until Monday evening; then l
took sick, so l stayed there until next
Monday morning. left over the Hus-
ton, Arkansas and Northern railroad
for Bastrop and New Orleans, where
my mother lives This is the happiest
meeting of my life and l have been on
the 20 so much until am completely
given out. There was an excursion
from Laboyor Lieufiesh Lar-Bi-oo-
Life to Hot Springs, Ark, and there
was another trip for me. joined
a party of five, being the sixth
one, so we went to Hot Springs, get
ting there Saturday night | spent
Sunday there seeing old friends and &C
quaintances, the whole time at the
Springs l had different places to go to.
Parks and menageries, then horseback
riding, then donkey riding around over
mountains and valleys, and out on the
artificial lakes rowing until the wee
hours of night. Sunday evening we
intended going to church, but a terrible
storm prevailed and our church going
in the evening was laid aside. We left
Hot Springs Monday morning for Bas-
trop, arriving there Tuesday afternoon.
Tomorrow am going fishing on Bayou
Bartholomew if nothing prevents.
Our excursion party to Hot Springs
was composed of six, namely: S. Rob-
binson, J. Benson, E. Boyed, E. E. Dab
ney, R. H. Pierce (my brother), H. }.
Pierce, Des Moines. so you can mag
inc the time l did have and my pleas
ures don't seem to cease but each day
increase. The trip through the coun-
try through which l came was just
grand.
The states which passed through
were Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Indian
Territory, Texas and Louisiana, and so
far as l could see each state seems to
be prosperous, that is, the crops. The
fields are green, the corn and oats and
every garden has bright future, and
around the old home frequently take
brothers gun and 90 rambling through
the old familiar places and the woods
with its wild flowers, sends delicious
odor as one passes through the trees
All are green and the birds have nests
out on the branches of trees and find
q quiet seat and sit for hours at a time
the birds fit to and fro. go
ing backwards and forth with little
springs Of grass or hay, building their
nests. and others hunting food for their
young ones as they sit and chirp and