The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-03-29

OlutlOnZe FARMING hcIhouS mere Withil
the next ten years.
Through the kindness of Ezra \.
Cooper of Vernon Center, with whom
am stopping, | was given drive to
the beautiful farm home of Judge j. =
McCampbell, two miles west of Corpus
Christi. Here Is Il farm of $50 acres all
under cultivation, land probably worth
$3.50 an acre. Surrounding this beautiful
farm mansion are orange trees, growing
fruit of the bitter and sweet varieties
| was permitted to pick some of the
bitter variety. which are used here Tor
making lemonade The sweet orange
trees were i'm blossom and will ripen
about October lst. Grapes, Strawberries,
palm figs, apricots and plums are also
grown on this farm. Last fall Mrs. Me-
Campbell picked forty dozen sweet
oranges from one small tree in the back
yard Judge McCampbell is about
eighty years old and he and MIR. Cooper
have been friends since the early sos.
On our return from the McCampbell
farm we stopped at Il Mexican cemetery.
which was curiosity. 1t occupies
about Il block, and adjoining it is Il
negro burying ground. As stated i'll my
former letter the Mexican does not like
to be classed with the negro, yet they
bury their dead side by side with only
a fence between. The Mexican cemetery,
like their city novels, is i'll a dilapidated,
unkept condition. Almost every grave
has board slab rudely carved out to
mark the head of the grave. Where
there are no slabs, the Spanish inscrip-
ton giving name, age and date, of death
is nailed OH a tree near by. On each
white slab hangs paper wreath of
either white or black color, and the
slabs range i'll height from one to fif-
teen feet. The taller slabs have small
glass near the center i'll which are pa
per flowers, usually in the form of a
wreath. The graves are covered with
shells, broken fruit jars, glass lamps,
bottles. dishes, vases and i'll some in
stances tin cans. The majority of the
graves are enclosed by fence, painted
white, with here and there one encircled
med. grasses and shrubs growing pro-
miscuously and withal present an un-
tidy condition.
The MeXicans of the city are quarter
ed back from the bluff, and their homes
consist of one-room shack of weather.
beaten boards. The Mexican stores fur
nish supplies to their people, who have
no desire to learn the English language.
As rule they are satisfied with about
two days work each week.
The Epworth League of the Metho-
Il, 80 ',;. llr
building on the bay front, where is
yearly held the state meetings of that
organization. Yesterday the league
served dinner and supper in new store
building and through the appeals of the
handsome young ladies at the outer
doors armed with the proper instru-
ments of responsiveness / was induced
to 90 in, but when through with the
meal | longed for one of the good old
Woman's Relief corps dinners. From
their tables you never 90 away hungry.
am told that northerner has a good
appetite in this climate by the sailed
gulf.
Corpus Christi has bright little
daily newspaper-The Caller-with w.
f. Baum as its editor and manager.
The legislature of this state recently
made an appropriation of 100000 to
deepen the gulf channel from Arkansas
Pass to Corpus Christi which will per-
nit of large boats running i'll here. This
will give this old town a boom and
make it one of the leading seaports OH
the gulf.
The streets of the city are macadam-
lied with oyster and gulf shells and
make hard, smooth roadway. The
gulf at one time must have extended
over the entire country here, as shells of
all sizes crop out of the ground every
where. This ought to be splendid
egg producing country.
With more of the northern spirit in
iected into Texas, she is likely to come
to the front and is already making rap
i'd progress.
Pandarosa lemons grow well here.
They are about four times the size OF
our store lemons and are in blossom the
year round, producing lemons nearly
every month. Oleanders fifteen feet
high grow along the sidewalks in many
parts of the city, and i'll the yards may
be seem palms, roses and almost every
variety of flowers.
| am told that tourists come here in
the winter to avoid the cold weather OF
the north and come in the summer to
get the cool gulf breezes, which makes
it an ideal resort the whole veal
through. Before returning | expect tc
visit Mexico, San Antonio and other
'EpxaS nOiutS