CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1901-03-14
"THE SUNNY SOUTHLAND" !"
Former County Clerk Hllsom Enjoys
A Few Weeks In the Land of
Cotton and Democracy.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas,
Mar. l, 1901.

knowing tnat you at one time hVeu
in Florida l thought you might still
retain passing interest in the sunny
southland" if so, you will read along
the lines that follow as well as be-
tween them.
Texas is the biggest state in the
union, and Texans, who ought to know
if anybody does, claim is is the best;
it produces more rice than South
Carolina, more sugar than Louisiana,
more wheat than the Dakotas, more
cotton than Mississippi; has more
prairie land than Kansas, greater oak
forests than the Virginias, larger
coal area than Pennsylvania, more
corn land than Illinois; is capable of
producing more iron ore than Ala
bama. and excels New Hampshire in
it's granite; has the greatest produc-
ing oil well in the United States, and
from present indications, more oil
producing territory than Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Indiana combined; from
Texarkana on the East to FL Paso on
the West equals the distance from
Chicago to New York-it has 400
miles of coast line on the Gulf, and
yet Ell Paso is nearer to 1000 miles
of coast line on the Pacific Ocean than
it is to any point on the Gulf of Mex
leo; it has all sorts of climate, from
the billiards of the Pan Handle to the
tropical coast country where frosts
are practically unknown. If | were
resident of this state | would now
say something about the cheap and
fertile lands, but I'll spare you that.
This city is the metropolis of the
state, and is the best winter city |
have ever visited. Its assessed valu-
alton is over $30,0O0,000; churches
and religious colleges number rs, the
latter being usually located in the
suburbs; the Auditorium has seating
capacity of 5000; the city has more
than 20 school buildings, and the
graduates of the high school are ad-
mitted without examination to the
University of Texas at Austin, and
the College of Physicians and Sur
geons of New York. The state in.
sane asylum is located several miles
out of the city near the famous Hot
Sulphur Springs.
The most prominent plazas of the
city are the Alamo Plaza, the Main
Plaza and the Military Plaza, and these
are in the business heart of the city,
and around them are collected large
portion of the retail establishments
and public buildings, the most promi.
nent of which are the handsome
Federal building on the south side OF
the Alamo Plaza, the new and magni.
ficent county court house on the south
side of the Main Plaza, and the beau.
tiful city hall in the center of the
Military Plaza; these plazas, with a
dozen others, and several large parks
are huge gardens of flowers and semi.
tropical trees, where roses, violets
pansies, etc., bloom all the year
round; oleandels and geraniums are
outdoor attractions here, and the
bananas grow wild along the San An
tonic river; in fact, we found one
banana tree that had fruit on it 2 OF
three inches long.
The San Antonio and the San Pedro
rivers run through the city, hav-
ing their source within a few miles
of the city-in large springs-and the
head of each river is park; the one
at the head of the San Pedro and
known as the San Pedro Park is at
tractively laid out and beautified with
fountains, shady walks, rustic seats,
tasteful pavilion, graceful bridges
and restful arbors, broad stretches
of green sward everywhere, and long
vistas of stately live oaks greet the
eye; pecan trees, graceful shrubbery,
placid lakes and sparkling streams
abound. A most interesting feature
of tl.is park is the really extensive