Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1905-04-14
THOUSAND-MILE RIDE
LONG TRIP, WITH HEALTH AND
PLEASURE THE OBJECTS.
Correspondent Writes Of Journey in
Texas and Mexico With a Party as
Guests of the Southern Pacific Rail-
road.

Gibson Willett special correspond.
ent of Leslie's Weekly, writes enter
tainingly of thousand-mile horseback
hunt in Texas and Mexico with party
as guests of the Southern Pacific rail-
road. The members of the party rep
resented twelve different states. At
Sabinas, Mexico, he says:
"Over half of the thousand-mile jour
ney has been completed-and the fell
lows who are here for their health are
now hard as nails; those who came
along with an appetite for pleasure
are well-nigh satiated; and the sports
men have brought in, day after day,
incredibly huge bags of ducks, geese,
rabbits, squirrels, and no end of small
game, not to mention big hauls OF
deer, bear, wild turkeys and fish. All
of which is due to about the most
healthful region in the Union; to
section of country where pleasurable
diversion is eternally at hand, and to
a territory that is literally a sports
mans paradise hitherto untrod and UNI
shot and unfished."
Mr.. Willett bestows a deserved
eulogy en- the splendid hospitality of
the Southern Pacific and the hearty
welcome accorded the party in south
ern cities from New Orleans onward.
Visitors to southwest Texas will not
need to be told of the really marvellous
work done by the Southern Pacific in
building up that section of the coun-
try. Mr.. Willett says:
"Then we again boarded our train
and railroaded on for the most of
day, through a country in which the
Southern Pacific has caused blade OF
grass-not to speak of stalk of corn,
cane or sugar, and blossom of COTTON
to flourish where none grew before.
Thirty miles farther inland-on the
San Diego river-we made our first
camp in Mexico. After that our
camps were from twenty to fifty miles
apart. And thus we have progressed
on our thousand-mile horseback hunt,
passing through strange villages and
seeing queer peon customs, visiting the
headquarters of mighty ranches OF
million acres, where the owners escort
ed us to the front door with six hun
dred white horses, or six hundred
black horses, or six hundred bays, as
the case might be, and having all
sorts of diversions of big hunts, and
witnessing many kinds of unique
sights in primitive and quaint old Mex
leo.
"Our first three or four camps were
made on one of the largest ranches in
the world-the Trevino ranch of ,OOO,-
900 acres. OF this great ranch-as
big as a New England state-as on all
the other great ranches we have trav-
ersed, the Southern Pacific manage
ment obtained all hunting and fishing
privileges.
1T was on the great Trevino ranch
that the healthseekers OF the party
first discovered that they were get
ting in Mexico exactly what they had
come fora new constitution. The
SpOrtSmen OF the party, 100, were out
late and up early on 1.-The chase that
pleaseth.' The motto always was to
kill only such game, however plentiful
it might be, as was actually needed for
consumption at our table, for the
Southern Pacific stands for the kill
ing of game for food only"
Many interesting stories of the dis
trict traversed are related by Mr. Will
lett. He concludes:
"Thus on this trip every promise
made by the Southern Pacific railroad
has been kept to the letter-just as
similar promises will be kept on the
second annual thousand-mile horse
back hunting party already talked OF