The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-09-06
TEXAS TODAY.
A Journey of Disenchantment
Across the Lone Star State.......

AS we'll expect to see Wall Street
without a ticker.
Some one was thirsty at the next
| station. The shock of the poker ex-
clusion made recourse TO stimulant
seem most commendable impulse.
A fifteen-minute wait promised am
pie time for that solace which some
men find only when the elbow is
crooked and the toe suspended on a
polished brass rail.
But a quick search up and down
the principal street revealed no
saloon.
At last the natives were ques-
toned. with the result that one of
them dealt this broadside:
Very sorry, sir, but this is local
option town. No liquor can be pur-
chased here, but you can get excel
lent ice cream soda at the drug
store"
And this is Texas,
Where were the famous bibbers,
the bad men of the novels who used
to count that day wasted when they
failed TO stow a quart under their
red shirts,
Ice cream soda, We hurried on
the train, least the mayor of the
town come out and ask us to play
beanbag
Worse to come.
We rode from the northern boun-
dary down through Texas to Calves
ton. We stopped at Dallas, Fort
Worth, Dennison. Waco, Marlin, 3re-
mond and Houston. We were in
the big cities and villages. We
crossed plains where cowboys
guarded cattle by thousands, but We
never saw pistol or lariat
"Oh. gracious, no." said one horri-
fed Texan, whom we questioned
about the absence of shooting irons,
mo one dares carry them There
is fine of 500 for having a
pistol, and a man who doesn't pay
the fine gets jailed for month"
We could have spared anything
but the pistol. It's absence shattered
the fondest Of our dreams, for we had
all along cherished frightened hope
that 1t might Re our goo1 fortune
to see a genuine Texas killing. No
pistols? Why go to Texas at all?
The roof garden of the Madison
Squire Garden can do better than
that.
Dallas, at the ball game, saw The
finishing blow administered. A great
crowd had gathered to see Rube
Waddell pitch for the Athletics
against the home team. Every place
in the stahd was taken. A man and
woman paused in the front row, in
sYch 2 position as to cut off the view
OF half a dozen Spectators.
We had thought that no true
Texan would speak grufiy to a
woman, no matter what the griev-
ance, but strong-lunged fan, intent
on seeing the game, yelled:
"Aw, git move on, lady! You're
no lookin' glass;"
We cheered up. Surely this would
start something. In a dime novel 1t
would have meant nothing less than
killing, perhaps several. Recall
iuS tHc CHlNdlTy Ol the DOTOeT, we
couldn't figure but that the law
against pistols would now be ignored
and half dozen guns pop out to
avenge the Insult.
But again came disappointment.
The age of shooting is past. Texas
has bowed to its lawmakers.
Instead of dropping his hand to
his hip pocket, the escort of the lady
turned politely and said:
"Oh, beg your pardon"
Then the pair meekly moved on.
Not shot, not an angry word, not
even a scowl.
Goodby, Texas OF the dream DAYS.
| We must have a housecleaning in
the memory department and hurl out
a hundred worshiped heroes and ten
! thousand deeds of valor.
Next time we want TO read a dime
novel We shall select one whose scene
is laid in the South Sea Islands. for
! the chances are we'll never get there
to have reality choke the life from
our expectations as il did in Texas
! Philadelphia North American.