The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-04-23

speed at times being close to 80 miles an
hour. The roadbed is all ballasted with
granite ballast and is as smooth as a
floor. 1t was on this stretch of track
that two abandoned engines, running
10 miles an hour, were allowed to meet
each other while running at full speed,
few years ago. Many thousands
of excursionists had gathered to see
the exhibition, but it had sad
ending as one of the engines blew
up and seven of the spectators were
killed and a number injured. 1t is
needless to say the curiosity of the
Texans to see railroad accident was
fully satisfied and has never been re-.
peated.
Our special train arrived at Ft. Worth
about noon, where we we're met by q
large reception committee of Iowans
and escorted to the Worth hotel where
luncheon was served, the party being
divided at small tables, at each of which
was one or more ladies and gentlemen
of the reception committee. Here we
met @. D. Reimers, formerly of Ottual-
wa and Davenport, who is now manager
of the Fort Worth Evening Telegram,
and showing the Texans sample of
northern newspaper enterprise, and I.
o. Walker, formerly of Bloomfield, who
is on the staff of the Morning Register.
After luncheon the entire party was
taken to the packing house district
where they inspected the mammoth new
plants of Armour and Swift, the largest
packing plants in the south, where
many of the party for the first time saw
how cattle and hogs are killed and pack
ed. Returning to the city the big brew
cry was visited and inspected, and
strange to say nearly all of the Iowa
prohibitionists were ready to sample the
product of the brewery. Here we were
shown model artificial ice plant and
viewed the ice in the various stages of
freezing. Theice is all made from fit
cred water and is 1etailed delivered at
your door at 25 cents per hundred
pounds. A trolley ride around the city
and view of their $3.50. 600 court house,
the finest in Texas, completed the day
with everyone very tired but happy in
the thought that the day had been well
spent.
At Fort Worth the itinerary OF the
trip was changed, the party having de.
cided to extend the trip one day in
order to visit Wichita Falls and view
the largest artificial irrigatlng plant in
Texas, leaving Fort Worth in the even
ing and arriving at Wichita Falls early
Thursday morning, the trip having been
made over the Denver i, Fort Worth
road. The first thing we did at Wichita
Falls was to visit Iowa Park, small
town ten miles from Wichita Falls,
which was named after Iowa by large
colony of Iowa people who settled
there. Our special train was in charge
of Conductor Jim Perdue, an old Leon
boy, who lives at Wichita Falls. The
country around Iowa Park is beautiful
one and one of the finest wheat belts in
the world. The country 10 we'll lmprov-
ed and the farmers prosperous. Re-
turning to Wichita Falls the party was
rendered an elaborate breakfast by the
citizens, after which we were taken in
carriages six miles in the country to see
the great reservoir from which thou
sands of acres of land will be irrigated.
An immense dam was built across Holi-
day creek, which dams up an enormous
body of water covering nearly 1000
acres of land, and is from two and a
half TO three miles wide and oyer five
miles long. The water is about 80 feet
deep, and the amount of water avail.
able for irrigation is four billion gallons.
1t is estimated that this water will irri.
gate over 10000 acres Of the finest land
in the world and the water can be kept
running constantly day and night for
over 100 days. The cost Of building the
udAu duu UuyliS VlC lauu Aao OCCu ONCi
5000, 900, but it will increase the value
Of the land irrigated nearly Sl0O per
acre. The carriage drive was greatly en-
joyed, traversing, as it did, thousands
of acres of land, and field after field of
beautiful wild flowers. Returning to
Wichita Fallsl the gentlemen of the
party were permitted to witness a
genuine Texas badger fight, the COM
mittee in charge having hard PROPOSE
ton in explaining to the ladies that it
was not suitable exhibition for them.
The honor of pulling the badger from its
box was accorded the president of the
press association, q. M. Junkin, of Fair
field, but in his excitement he pulled so
hard on the rope that the animals neck
was broken and the fight was declared
off. Talk about Iowa editors being
suckers-welI they were roped in in
i M