La Junta tribune., 1910-06-25

mine was discovered the world sup
ply of sulphur was obtained from
Sicily. This mine Is some four or
five hundred feet deep. as l remem-
Der. the sulphur being about one hun
dred and forty feet thick and cover
ing about 600 acres. and Is pure sui
phur. This sulphur was discovered
when this territory belonged to
France. but little work was done until
chemist took hold OF II. He had
made experiments and discovered the
method now used In mining this sui
phur. Steam and hot water are fore
I'd down wells, which melt the sui
phur, and the melted sulphur and
water are forced out by compressed
air. The water is separated at the
surface and constant stream Of
melted sulphur pours from each Of
the seven wells into a lake OF sui
phur. which is retained by being
cribted with boards. and as the sui
phur cools 1t hardens and grows until
mass OF solid sulphur. sixty feet by
one hundred and twenty feet, rises
seventy TO eighty feet high. and when
the cribbing is removed, there stands
mighty mass OF pure and solid sui
phur, weighing more than 10000 tons.
This mass is blasted by giant pow
der and loaded into cars by great
steam shoyels and shipped to all
parts OF the United States and the
western world II sells at $23 per
ton In New York. The expense of
mining by this process Is not great.
This mine is yielding untold wealth
10 its owners.
have Just passed through the Taft
ranch Of about 10000 acres. Twenty
five thousand acres of this ranch
has been sold TO a promoter who has
divided II up and sold almost all OF
it, in tracts from ten acres TO 100
acres. at from s25 10 SEQ per acre.
still leaving this immense Taft tract.
Taft. or rather Mrs. Taft, owns anoth-
er tract of something like 200,0
acres, west OF San Antonio. What
the promoter paid for this land one
can only guess. My guess would be
about SIS to SIS per acre. Thus. you
see. he must have made good prof.
II. Mr.. Chas. p. Taft. brother OF our
honored president. married these
broad acres. His wife was Miss
Sinton, who inherited these vast es-
tates. Her father was citizen OF
Cincinnati and bought these lands
many years ago. Twenty years ago
such lands could he bought for TWEEN
ty-five cents per acre. The great
Texas boom has advanced the price
OF these lands to from SIS to 500
per acre. and these lands are selling
10 spectators and actual settlers at
these prices. The same promoter,
George II. Paul. of Iowa, has just
bought $1,000 acres adjoining the
Taft ranch at AS ! am told. $50 per
acre and is now surveying the tract
to place on the market at s25 to $50
per acre. The land Is covered with
mesquite and chapparsl and other
brush. II costs from $40 to SIS per
acre TO clear this land. This added
TO the above purchase price makes
the land dear for this country. Still
people are coming from the north. the
east and the west and buying this
land. Along the railroads, on 10th
sides, the Tafis have farm Of sev.
eral thousand acres In cultivation. II
now shows as fine cotton as I have
seen In Texas. There is but one or
two corn fields to b~ seen. but much
Sorghum. This n not claimed TO be
corn country. II Is boasted OF only
as cotton country. The soil Is a.
black as blaokness and is rich. There
are several varieties OF soil, but. the
prevailing soils are what Is known a.
the "hog'wallow" land. the black
"~Ns sS~h anu Ahs HkHk eauuy ioSt0.
They are all fertile. but the hogwal.
low land Is sticky when wet and hard
when dry. 10 that IL il hard to cult.
,ate. but produces rather the best
when fnrmcd and cultivated. Often
one can not 20 Into field for long
time because the mud sticks like wax
and rolls up until II fills a wheel
solid TO the hub. II can not be
worked at all when wet.
The King ranch Is near Corpus
Christi aud embraces 500. 900 acres Of
land and now IL the property OF the
widow. Mrs. King. who resides In =
magnificent home In Corpus Christi.
! believe this ranch IL now being d.
Nls