The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-23
TIE MTRANsPLANTING OF CACTUS
nY HILTOa .. GREgR.

.l despondency. & "a
 Every hopsldeIuded soul of its tw'
 hundred habitanta was enveloped--ex | cept Tracey.s.' His was fog-prooL Ten words from the railroad com ! mittee that morning had caused thu
 sudden slump in the hopes of Gao l tus ~The Oklahoma Southwestern direc.
 tors had refused the propisition oi i Cactusl'
 Had refused 1t, That was the blow that prostrated. M.
 Every day during its dozen years ol 1 existence Cactus had watched, had ] hoped, had prayed for the coming oi i railroad Only steel rails and pant 1 ing pistons were needed to make Cac' tus the humming metropolis of nun
 dred undulant miles of cattle coun' 1 try.
 So Cactus thought. 1 But now. after long years of wait ing and hoping, to have q new rah-
 road invade the undeveloped country
 and leave Cactus a good three miles to the lefti
 old Baldknobs caused 1t. Baldknobs was the name. of a rugged hill range i that reached like q rock backbone be- J tween Cactus and Milburn City. TO
 reach Cactus in direct line the new
 road would incur heavy expense and waste lYdkNAOAS WCChA AAA RA1SS@AS N@%N
 tunneling. To enter by circuitoua
 route would prove equally expensive so the Oklahoma Southwestern decid-
 ed 10 leave the peaceful serenity Of 1 Cactus undisturbed for all time by the midnight sreeching of its locomotives | Rumor said so, at least
 At first Cactus was increduAous.
 Winford was doubtless responsible TOT the rumor, and Wipford's hallmark was sutficient proof of unreliability' Pass Cactus by? Preposterousl were not the sales of wool heavier by sey- eral thousand pounds last season Tn Cactus than in Milburn City? And was not Cactus already recognised as the coming cattle center of the Panhanule country? Pass Cactus by? Bahl Kali road promoters possess modicum or business Judgment. Seldom are they hlInd to their own best interests and 1 the Oklahoma Southwestern would cer- 1 tainlvt never be guilty of such a grteV- ous error as to leave Cactus on tne | line. .ss
 was before the surveying corps reached Milburn City, twenty miles to the northeast. When it pushed forWard with compass and chain, 1t soon be- came evident that rumor had been cor ract. Cactus was to be ignored--to be left three miles in the Iurch
 csacftis went frantic. Something 1 must be done, and that speedily. Such was the general consensus of opinion. Something must be done-put wnass | A mass meeting of citizens was nelo in the lamp-lfghted hall over GrienIe.s grocery. Gribble's was tne onay swo soo [ story establishment ,ins Cactus, and the top floor served alternately as City Hall. Masonic Temple and Opera House. All Cactus was on hand Donald Maxwell, as; leading citizen or the town. became at once the ruling spirit of fife meeting Judge Maxwell he was called. by virtue of his having held the office of Justice of the Peace far three consecutive terms. He was ay1rer. of' the handsomest residence in Cactus afforded the luxury of ser wants, was a heavy stockholders In the Nfifburn City Rank,s counted his cat tle and acres by thousand, and-Was the father of Mildred
 The last gave him more importance in Tracey's eyes than all his bank stock and shorthorns To be the ta- there of a girl like Mildred--tha1l Was enough honor for any one man lfVlnsi
 But on mass meeting night the judge seemed wholly unmindful of the hon- or. He busted himself instead in the interest of Cactus, dozen plans to bring the railroad people to terms were offered, discussed and NrejecGed. Finally 1t was decided to raise bonus. What railroad on earth had ever re- sisted the temptation of q bonus4 The very name would make sweet music in the ears of the Oklahoma South western. Judge Maxwell headed the list with a liberal donation. He also headed a committee, which was en- trusted with the important task of waiting on the directors of the Okla homa Southwestern at the Kansas City office, and of presenting the claims of Cactus, backed by the irresistible bon Us. They could hardly afford to sniff at such 8 gilt-edge proposition.
 The committee departed and the hopes of Cactus went with it. Ten days passed, and Cactus suffered a suspense that verged on agony. Then came the return of the committee long faced and discomfited-with the astounding information that the rail- road had considered the proposition, had refused the bonus, and would pro- ceed on it's way southwestward over the route already surveyed.
 Reaction told on Cactus. It sunk into slough of despair. Its entire citizenship was hopelessly submerged All but Tracey-he kept his chin up, his head clear, and his eyes open.
 Meanwhile Winford, the first collec- tion of houses to the southwest, crowed Justify. And the sound of Winford's growing proved the bitterest pill that Cactus was forced to swallow Win ford was not only a nebghbor-but a commercial enemy and rival. Winford hated Cactus. Cactus returned the compliment with extreme cordiality. For years, and justly, Cactus had claimed supremacy. NOW, the new road would touch at Winford, make live trading center of 1t. and forever put Cactus out of competition.
 In a few months a long strip of prairie country would be carved, like the Scriptural rib, from the side of Brewster county-to which both towns owed allegiance-and the new territory would later be clothed with a name and the dignity of a separate county ship. The next State Legislature would pass the enabling act, and eith- CT Cactus or Winford would be chosen for the new county's capital. All along the advantage had been decid- edly in favor of Cactus. But the rail- roads unexpected obstinacy suddenly changed the complexion of things.
 At least two-thirds of the population announced it's intention to pull up stakes instanter and leave for green CT pastures-Milburn City or Winford more, they reasoned, Cactus would be a hasbeen. Why stay with the hulk of a dismantled and sinking ship?
 A few remained loyal Among the faithful were Judge Maxwell and Ber- nard Tracey. The cause of MaxweIrs fidelity was obvious. Financial inter- ests held him. But Tracey-well. there was something bulldoggish about Tracey He wasn't a quitter, -Va