The Ordway new era., 1907-07-19
A TRANs-CoNTlNENTAL TRIP.
Bv A. BENT.
BY ]. A. BENT

cattle region Of the Pan Handle, and
as you enter the corn and cotton oeit'
With a dozen lines OF important rail-
roads, gives her great promise Us
wholesale distributing point iof
Northern Texas.
Not far distant her rival, Dallas,
city OF perhaps 6o,0oo population, oul
better built, home OF the wealth ana
refinement OF Texas-a city ot SKY
scrapers. Beautiful homes and mncn
business. "Beautiful Dallas" well
named and bearing her honors well.
We proceed southward aud visit the
capital city OF the Empire state oi
the World Austin Is not 4 large
city. but her capitol building Is the
seventh public building in Size In the
world. and costing over sl5,coo'oVe'out
Is not too large to house the offices oi
this great state.
II Texas were as dcnsely populated
as the New England states, Ti,oo0,ooV
people or nearly the entire population
Of our Union OF States, could una
home within her broad boundaries.
She has now 100000 population but
grows by leaps and bounds.
Next we visit what Is known as the
Gulf Country. The ten counties bor'
derlng on the Gulf OF Mexico ana
reaching north 80 miles are 4 yeFitd-
BILE Garden OF the Nile for richness
and depth OF soil. bat lying low and
level requires more work 10 cultivate
and drain, but when well cultivated
and drained produces beyond COMPARE
This region is the home Of the sugar
cane, about which aud where poets
sang and darkeys hoed, and Mrs.
Stowe, in her immortal story, Uncle
Tum,r wrote. visited two sugar
plantations ut Sugar Land and Oyster
Creek, and saw hundreds Of darkeys
with their mules cuitiVating the
thousands OF acres Of cane. This was
about waist high and grows best In red
sandy lDam that drains TO the creeks
and bayou near. heard the darkeys
sing "'Mid the Cotton and the Cane.
and think you are happy here, Mr..
S4nb0. The South needs you as much
as YOU need the Southern CLINE and
help OF Southern capital. You are
better treated, housed and cared for
here than in the North, to which your
longing eyes often turn. Don't be de-
ceived. God put you down South for
reason; His plan is best. Stay
And now to the Rice Fields" This
Gulf region before described-is the |
home OF new industry, corresponds
in some respects TO our Colorado beet
raising. Rice must be raised on low,
fat lands, where in fresh water the |
stalk and grain is matured after being
drilled in, mgchas wheat. 1t is al |
lowed to reach TO the first joint. then |
1t must be flooded for about GO to 80
days, until the heads drop, then the
water is run of. This corresponds
somewhat to our idea OF irrigation
in Colorado. But every rice field |
must be leveed up about six or eight |
inches to hold and control the flood |
water from running of. This takes
much labor, and right here let me
mention what seems to US almost a re-
yersal OF natural law-"We say water
runs down hill" But II don't in Tex
as rice fields, There it runs up hill
that is, it is lifted by pumps up into
canals or trenches or reservoirs, as the
country is dead level, less than two
feet fall to the mile, and from here by
laterals passed over the rice heius
that are from 20 to 100 acres each in
size. Often TWO and even three lifts
are made Of the water from Creek, or
bayou or well, to the land, before suf-
ficient head is obtained. This rem
ders rice raising costly and slower
than cotton aud corn to develop
country, but the returns are large
-,n IN.