Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-06-19
WONDERs OF THE WEST.

"Yhs, I saw many interesting things,
and had q delightful trip Of 1t; but I am
glad enough to get back. for, after all,
South Carolina is the best state In the
Union and York is the best county In
South Carolina" "
So said Mr.. ]. C. Wilborn to the re-
porter last Monday afternoon. He had
lust returned on Saturday from a trip
to San Francisco, California, where he
has been in attendance on the annual
meeting of the railroad commissioners
of the United States, June 4, and 6. 1t
was evident that Mr.. Wilborn had an
interesting story to tell, and the report
er proceeded forthwith to draw 1t out Of
him.
"It would take me two or three days
to tell the whole story Of the trip" Mr..
Wilborn commenced, $50 In order to
make it as brief as possible, I guess
had better skip over that portion Of 1t
between here and Texas. 1t did not be-
gin to grow interesting until we struck
Texas anyway. The first thing OF IN
terest in Texas was the Beaumont. oil
regions. You've been seeing a great
deal about Beaumont in the papers
Well, when you get to Beaumont, you
don't have to be told about 1t. It's just
little town on the railroad; but there
Is a great mob Of people there from all
parts of the country, and 1t Is the era
ziest crowd you ever saw. Everybody
Is wild on oil, and you hear but little
else than oil for two or three hundred
miles on either side. I did not stop at
Beaumont; but could see, hear and
smell oil. The town Is not large enough
to accommodate the crowds OF fortune
hunters, and they have to come In and
20 out daily on special trains. Specu-
lation runs riot everywhere In the
neighborhood; but practical results are
also noticeable. Oil is selling at 10 cents
a barrel, and it is being used for fuel
on the railroads and in the various
manufacturing establishments Of the
region for hundreds Of miles around.
They were using oil for fuel in the 10
comotive that pulled us by the place.
cannot venture to give you many de-
tails; but there Is no doubt Of the fact
that the oil strike will have tremen-
dous effect on the future industrial de-
velopment Of that whole section.
After getting into Southwestern
Texas, I was struck by the absence OF
crops. We would pass over hundreds
of miles without seeing q stalk of corn
or cotton, and but few blades Of grass.
It was the dryest and most sterile look
ing country had ever seen. Upon In
quiry, I was told that this was the
great grazing country Of Texas; but
could not understand that either until
they told me that cattle fed on the mes
quit grass or bushes. I did not see
many cattle though. There had been
no rain for a long time and the cattle
were collected at water holes far away
from the railroad.
"As I got further west, the desola-
tion seemed to grow more pronounced
until we entered Arizona, where the
ground appeared to be literally parched.
saw cattle there; but they were dead.
The railroads out that way are fenced
in on both sides with wire fences. It
Is to keep cattle off the track. Along
on both sides Of the railroad, were to
be seen the dead bodies Of great long
horned steers and cows. I began to
notice them every few hundred yards,
and it occurred to me that was pass
ing through country that had been
devastated by some cattle disease; but
natives on the train told me different.
The cattle I saw had perished from
thirst, some Of them years before.
They had gotten lost from their herds
and wandered out to the places where
they had finally dropped from exhaus-
ton. Many of them had lain there for
years, the dry air preventing putrefac-
tion, and the carcasses becoming like
so much bone. There are no buzzards
out that way and nothing else to dis
turb these carcasses. At one Of the
stations beyond Tucson, Arizona, I
asked one OF the IneH now loIlS IL Hdu
been since any rain had fallen in his
section and he told me something over
two years.
Shortly after getting into California,
the prospect began to change material
Iy. The change was gradual, Of course;
but it was like going from purgatory to
Paradise. After awhile we struck the
region of irrigation, in Southern Cali
fornia. The dreary expanses Of sterile
waste gave place to luxurious stretch
es or orchards and waving fields Of
grain. In the vicinity of Pomona, CAL
ifornia, 1 ran upon thousands Of
oranges, lemons, prunes, figs, grapes,
and cherries. 1t is a veritable land of
milk and honey. At the railroad sta
tions were to be seen great piles of or
anges literally rotting for want Of cars
to ship them in. I was told that the
oranges were shipped to all parts Of the
country and that there was still a profit
after paying $500 or $4OO car freight
to Chicago.
In the San Joaquin valley, I saw a