Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-13
Water Sometimes Scarce.

a three-dAy ride to Brownsville where
steamers occasionally sailed for New Or
leans or Galveston.
Water Sometimes Scarce.
The land is semi-arid and covered with
mesquite trees and other vegetation.
which is found in all dry countries. The
cattle were. formerly watered from sur
face wells, which sometimes went dry.
In 1900 there was a terrible drought. the
streams were exhausted early In the
spring, the wells failed in June and hun
dreds of cattle lay down and died. gasp
ing from thirst 1t was a struggle at the
ranchhouses to get water enough for
making the coffee and boiling the pota
toes. not to mention laundry purposes
and the watering Of the stock. 1t looked
as if every living thing would perish un-
less water could be obtained. Mr. Kle-
berg. manager of the King ranch, and
owner sent to Houston for men and
drills to deepen the wells. he believed
that by driving down farther he could
get more water.
At the first attempt the drillmen struck
an artesian basin go feet below the sur
face, and crystal stream gushed out
like that which answered the rod of
Moses when he struck the rock in the
wilderness and saved the Israelites on
their way to the promised land.
Mr.. kleberg kept those drillers at work
until they had sunk 40 wells where
| water was most needed on the King
ranch. His neighbors initiated him. and
every man in Texas who knew how to
drill we'll and had the machinery was
sent for and kept busy until more than
500 fountains Of pure, soft, cool water
We're flowing at the rate of seventy-five
to a hundred and Atty gallons minute.
There was plenty of water for everybody
all the way from Corpus Christi to
Brownsville. 49, miles north and south,
| along a belt forty-five miles back from
the coast.
purposes. of irrigation as well as to sus-
tain the herds and flocks, these enter
prising ranchmen decided that they ought
| to have a railroad, and three of them
| Mr. Kleberg. Mr.. Armstrong and Mr.
| Kennedy. went to ST. Louis. where they
| laid the situation before B. F. Yoakum
president of the ST Louis and San Fran
cisco railroad. which was then building
Galveston.
Railroad Soon Built.
Mr.. Yoakum. being Texan born and
bred. and familiar with that section
of the state, promptly responded to the
| suggestion and with his usual energy and
| enthusiasm planned the scheme, entered
into a contract with the five ranchme n,
| who owned all the land between Corpus
| Christi and Brownsville, and persuaded
the Union Trust Company of St. Louis to
| finance the enterprise. Under the ar
rangement Mrs. King, Mr.. Kennedy. Mr..
Armstrong. Mr.. Drtscoll and MI Yturia
| gave the railway company strip Of land
| comprising one hundred and twenty
and Brownsville for right Of way. for
! stations, terminals and other purposes,
| keeping one-half interest in all the town
site that should be established. Construc-
ton work was begun at once and was
| finished so that the first train carried
| passengers over the track on July 4, 1904
( The track runs sixty-fve miles through
the King ranch eighteen miles through,
the Kennedy ranch. fifteen miles through
the Armstrong ranch and a correspond
ing distance through the other ranches.
Even before the track was finished large
numbers OF farmers from the northern
states purchased tracts from twenty
acres to one hundred and sixty acres
and several thousands of people bought
town lots and built themselves houses
around the different stations. And set
tiers have been coming in so fast ever
since that there is now a string Of towns
and villages along the line-all brand new
with neatly built and neatly painted cot
tases and bungalows. good hotels. brick
| stores. banks. paved streets, electric
| lights. telephones. water works and all
| Twenty-one Towns Spring Up.
! The following is list of towns, with
their populations. which have been built
| since July !. 1904 along the track of
tee gulf coast railway between Corpus
Christi and Brownsville. where there
were only five ranchhouses seven years
ago: Bobstown, 600: Bishop. 200; Kings
vile. 1900: Ricardo, 800; Riviera, $50; Ca
rita go; Raymondsville, 400: Lyford, 80:
Harrington, 1000; San Benito, 26OO: La
feria. 223: Bixby: 100: Santa Maria. 300;
Mercedes. SO: Llano Grande, 70: Pharr,
l73; San Juan. 225: Donna. 600: McAllen,
$50: Mission, 1900: Samfordyce. 200
These villages and towns have q popu-
lation Of more than 1900. not including
the farmers that are scattered over the
surrounding country. and perhaps 5000
people have come into Brownsville and
vicinity since the railroad was opened.
There is q schoolhouse In every town
costing from 81, 500 to So. 600: there is at
LEAFS one church in every town. and In
some Of them are several. both Protes-
liant and Catholic. The Baptists have
the largest number and the Methodists
next. The people are mostly farmers
and tradesmen from the northern central
e.