Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-11-21
DR.. Eff LOWRY
TELLS OF TEXAS
oTTUMWA MAN WRITES OF
GREAT PROGRESS BEING
MADE IN SOUTH.
NEAR THE BORDER LINE
Party Is Now Hunting on Land Over
Which Mexico and the United
States BattIed for Pos
session.

SAANASeAs NIAsNS'
left Ottumwa Tor trip of pleasure
and inspection of the gulf coast
country of southwest Texas and
Mexico, several parties requested me
to write to them giving a description
of things as they appear in this far,
off country, and knowing chat most
all of them were readers of the
Courier, thought 1t would be less
trouble to me and of interest to a
great many other readers of the
Courier to write a descriptive letter to
your paper, so they as well as other
readers of the Courier might read
about this-to me at least-interest-
ing country, and some of the things
| have seen since left Ottumwa.
left home Tuesday night, November
| 5, and arrived here in Corpus Christi
| (the body of Christi on Friday night
at $40 exactly on time, as scheduled
to make the trip. How was that for a
run of nearly l,400 miles. To leave OF
tumwa on schedule time and arrive
at the end Of a 1,400 mile run exactly
on time? came to Kansas City over
the Rock Island from Ottumwa. From
Kansas City over the Santa Fe, Gulf,
Colorado & Texas, and San Aantonio
& Arkansas Pass into Corpus Christi.
In our party of forty-four were
people from Wisconsin, Illinois, North
and South Dakota, and Nebraska as
well as Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Wash
ington, Ottumwa and several other
towns in Iowa and northern Missouri.
Our trip through Oklahoma and
Indian Territory written before
Oklahoma was ADMITTEDLY and on down
clear across the big state of Texas
was one of great interest to most Of
us. We came into Oklahoma at day
light Thursday morning, passing along
close by the Miller Bros. famous 101
ranch, the largest cattle ranch In
Oklahoma On this ranch we saw two
heards Of buffalo and one of deer and
antelope quietly grazing In large
Enclosure made for them. We saw
also thousands Of cattle as well as a
| good many horses. This ranch Is
located in what was once a part Of the
Cherokee strip north Of Guthrie We
passed through the towns Of Perry,
Guthrie, Oklahoma City and smaller
towns entering the Chickasaw nation
of Indian Territory, at Purcell, and
crossed the Red river into Texas at
4 point few miles North of Gains
vile, Texas, which is beautiful, live
up to date little city; going from there
to Fort Worth, a hustling city of
about $4,000 population. I noted quite
a change in TT. Worth from what 1t
was when l last saw it in 1894, 1t
having then a population Of about
$4,000 At Ft. Worth l went to bed,
getting up the next morning nearly
200 miles south at the town of
Jocrom, arriving that evening, as be-
fore stated at the very famous gulf
coast town of Corpus Christi, Of
which I want to make much mention
A Beautiful City.
Corpus Christi Is a beautiful typical
southern city located on bay about
Its miles below Galveston and 140
miles from Brownsville, Of Roosevelt
fame. The population at this time
Is about 1000, but growing very fast
The people are mostly Americans
from the west and middle states
There is also large lIexican popula.
ton here and one can hear Spanish
| spoken almost as much as English.
fii.d here Mexicans employed in all
branches of business; cooks and wait
ers in hotels and restaurants, driving
cabs and teams, servants and coach.
men, and even clerking in the stores
Most Of them are polite and quick
being very accommodating The city
is built along beautiful bay and AS
| sit In my room about $50 feet from
the snore, I can hear the waves lash
ing the shore and can look out across
the bay as far as eye can reach and
see the top Of sails and the green
bright waves as they cone in from
the great Gulf of Mexico. It is 3
grand, beautiful sight. Here in
Corpus Christi as we'll as all the gull
coast country, they have no winter
and flowers and garden truck as well
as tropical fruits grow the year
| round. l lave seen hundreds OF
beautiful palm trees fifteen to twenty
feet high; allcolors of roses now II
blossom, and this is called the city
of ualms and roses. also have seer
all kinds of tropical plants. l see
figs on the trees in large quantities
this now being the third crop this
year have also seen quite lot OF
bananas, oranges and lemons, growing
on the trees here. These things
certainly make city beautiful,
along with the roses, flowers and other
tropical trees. 1t Is good business
city, as 1t is the shipping point fol
the products of this section which
consist largely of winter truck gar
dening of which this is becoming one
OF the best winter truck gardening
sections in the United States. i now
see acres and acres of cabbage plants
just set out as we'll as beans nov
about three inches high. Also onions
} radishes and all other small garden
stuffs which grow every month in the
year and find ready market at bis
prices for all they grow
A Most Interesting Country.
A most interesting country Il
this gulf coast country. 1t EN-
braces a region bordering upon thu
Gulf of Mexico between the Rit
Grande river on the west and the
Mecca river on the north This is the
disputed territory over which the wal
between the United States and Mexico
was fought, after Texas had won hel
independence, and had been admitted
into the union the boundary line O