The Glenwood post., 1906-03-03
TEXAS AS SEEN
BY ASTRANGER
Some of the Advantages and Dis
advantages Of the Great Lone
Star State
NO PLACE LIKE OLD COLORADO

Probably the first impression Col
is the tiatness of the country. The
panhandle seems to be all f1atness
and light on a sunshiny day, and each
, Characteristic seems to show off the
other to greater advantage, To see
for miles and miles nothing but the
rolling prairie until the eye grows
tired is a sight for the mountaineer
not soon to be forgotten.
Here and there prosperous looking
town, and. invariably was there a
prosperous looking individual riding
broncho and wearing a corduroy
suit and great white hat whom the
porter designated as a "big cattle
man; one of the richest in this part
of the country" Whether he rode
into town for the mail OF was en- the
advertising committee for that section
was not learned, but certainly the
town would have been incomplete
without him
But after travelling half the night
and the next day through the in.
terminable tlatness' until that theory
about the world being round begins
to appear far fetched, another idea
intrudes itself upon one and that is
the idea of the bigness of Texas, and
and when at last it comes time for
move, a look at the map locates Fort
Worth at hand and discloses the fact
that only small portion of the Lone
Star state has been tlaversed after all
From business point of view Fort
Worth does not rank very high among
the Texas towns, but Dallas, which is
only short distance east and con-
nected by an interuI ban electric line,
is thriving manufacturing city and
is fast growing into business center.
In great contrast to Colorado cities
and towns, Dallas seems to have no
municipal pride, and the streets are
abominable. In fact poor sidewalks
and streets seem to be the prevailing
fashion all over Texas, and one gets
the idea of general carelessness which
seems hard for the citizens to over
come, and which may be really at
tributed to climatic conditions. From
Dallas to Big Sandy there seems to be
little variation, except a gradual
change from prairie to timberland.
For miles and miles on either side of
the Texas & Pacific track were pools
of sickly looking water, until one
81, vail p,,p ,tnr has
creeping through the car windows.
Rusk, however, is on branch of
the Cotton Belt and is in hilly dis
trict and surrounded by forests of pine
and oak. In earlier years Rusk was
the largest town in eastern Texas, but
has been at standstill or what is
worse Is really dying. 1t is the
county seat of Cherokee county, which
, county, bv the way, is noted particu-
larly for the fact that it took the first
prize for the finest peaches at the ST.
Louis exposition, an argument which
every 'furriner" receives when he be-
gins to tell the glores of his own ma
tive land.
Here, also, is located the state pris.
on which at present contains about 800
convicts. The prison iron furnace
supplies iron for nearly the whole of
Texas, aud furniture is manufactured
there and shipped away by the car
load. Various industries are carried
on there by the state and within the
walls there is the business stir and
noise heard in the manufacturing por-
tion of large city.
1t is said that Rusk has been pro-
nounced by military authorities to be
the best naturally fortified town in
America 1t is surrounded by three
big hills located at about equal dis
tances from each other and from the
summit OF either of these the whole
territory can be viewed at glance,
and access would be impossible in case
of war. The chief products in this
part of Texas are cotton and cane, al
though fruit is raised in great quan-
Z titles. especially peaches, figs and
pears. Truck growing is a good bust
ness, and there are several canning
factories in the county. small one
in Rusk. The soil is fertile, and al
most anything can be grown.
The country is not thickly populated
and there is ample room for home
seekers. The timbered land can be
bought cheap, and in some cases the
timber can be sold for more than the
original price Of the land and the