The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-03-01
ALsttsr from sxas.

/ lTlOuuS duu your SuUSCIiUcIS dSAcu lllc
to write them about Texas perhaps you
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Also send us a sample paper.
We left Davis City on January IL at
1890 aud reached here January Is, at
1880. Katy is little town Of perhaps
thirty dwellings, q grocery store, school
house, two hotels, blacksmith shop,
saloon and cotton gin. 1t is on the NJ.
X. Il T., twenty eight miles west of
Houston. In the afternoon the excur-
sionists were driven out by willing
land agents. January is said to be the
rainest month in the year and recent
sig inch fall made the prairie decidedly
sloppy. We often drove through sinks
where the water was from four to eight
inches deep, but the soil being sandy
loan it was not very muddy.
The county has begun grading the
roads. those finished being fine. In the
little bitches by the roadside the water
showed fall of about five feet to the
mile. There are on every quarter Sec
ton depressions from those containing a
few rods to few acres, probably not
more than acres on any quarter sec
ton. Those are favorite feeding places
part Of the year and all can be drained
into creeks. When road grading is
completed much Of the ditching will be
done.
This part of the country was long kept
from settlement by cattle men. Only a
year ago, it is said, the last big drove
left. Occasionally We meet resident Of
four years and much oftener those of
two years or later. There is a great deal
Of unoccupied land. We drove past a
4O.acre field of oats waving in the
breeze. We saw fall gardens containing
cabbage, lettuce, turnips and multiplier
onions ready for use. Some had green
peas for Nmas dinner.
We are never out of sight Of timber in
Texas, scragey stuff. In this part live
oak and post oak mainly, and always
festooned with Spanish moors and
decorated with clamps Of bushes foot
or two high, n,islIetoe as sure rs the
world. For shade are planted Chine
Berry and the umbrella tree, through
the shade Of which the sun cannot pene
trate.
This Is great fruit country. Pears
peaches. plums, figs, grapes, straw
berries, blackberries, dewberries ant
melons do grandly. At one place Their
were mulberry trees 90 inches in circum
ference at 4 years from slip, four yea
old pear trees IL feet high, 10 81 inche
in circumference had fruited years
II Fig cuttings planted in the spring ha'
! yielded from one to fifty figs Th
!. lovliest tree we ever saw was a Pyra
midal Arbor Vitae feet high wit
!, leaves set thick and even, remindin
= one Of leaves in book set on end an
= open little. Two year old blackberrie
F. covered the picket fence and locke
3 like climbing roses.
!. The few flowers looked sorry like on
latest fall flowers but the warm days {
the next week made them pretty. Th
owner gave me phlox, verbena an
orange flowers. A Marchoneal was GU
in all the glory Of shining stems, leave
and buds. There are many Cape Jel
samines which later blossom into til
}. most fragrant white. Near by was
= little fish pond. The owner had got
4 inch fish of the government fiftee
! months before and the fish had grow
! to be 9 or 10 inches long. This ia pr
eminently ash country: We saw ca
i; tie in fair order that had had 20 a
tention this winter, but most feed ha
of some sort and say they should hav
sweet potatoes and wind breal
tSheds would not hurt them. The higf
est estimate have heard Of OH raising
steer to 8 l-2 years old is ;2;A gher
is plenty q gfs2s 70 be moved and
done In the right time makes excelleq
5 feed. But what could be expected {
: grass put UP after frost: Yhe grass
: mainly Huestem. A man We saw sal
y he had atElepd wh9 travelled for tiv
q months in Texas and he said Katy ha
!; the best grass Of any place he was il
:: There is little good stock here but th
= state is alive to improvement and stoc
!, is being graded Up. Iexas COWS can b
bought for $e5 BY going of for then
! EGood milk COWS are scarce, but tolel
lably good one with calf can be had f
t$45. Early four months old calve'
Il common order, sell for $loin Houston
= All say that anyone who expects t
+ make money must havs pows. A neigf
Dor rented a section Of good fenced Ian
- for pasture for $40. People buy then
selves land poor sometimes and get sic
of the country. Some are bringing
northern cattle. Likely they are able
get more if they die. Horses sometim,
: do fairly well when brought from Il
north but it is not considered i'd! safe to d
Z lpend OF them los work the tlrst yea
Horses here are very ordinary lot an
prices are high. Mules are the ma
dependence and may be brought fro
. the north. Hogs are Poland Chin
s and some are quite good. Cotton is Il