Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1911-02-09
FROM AUDUBON IOWA
TO MONTE CHRISTIE TEXAS
Makes A Long Trip Through A Rich
Section OF Country Furnishing
Much Variety OF Climate.

From Audubon 10 Monte Christie a
distance of 1900 miles as the crow flies,
leaving the snow and ice behind at
Kansas City, through the now famous
oil fields, the largest in the United
States are in eastern Oklahoma. From
Tulsa south and beyond Sapulpa the
country is dotted with oil dericks as
far as theeye can reach and the oil area
is said to be about 100 miles square of
proven oil ground and of the best quail
ty. A gentleman from Pittsburg, Pa,
who had purchased 800 acres of this
land some years ago told me that he
now he'd Is wells on his land, and one
recently brought in, flowed 800 barrels
day of better oil than the Pennsyl-
vania field ever yielded
On through northeast Texas TO Dali
las, which is so dry that the city water
works are out of business and water is
selling for 10c gallon for drinking
purposes. To Houston the Chicago of
the south where 10 and Is story build
ings grow in a night, with side trip
to Galveston not yet recovered from the
1900 tidal wave, where we bathed in the
tepid water of the Gulf of Mexico on
the Goth day of January. Then on to
Farthwest South the mouth of the Rio
Grande, to Mission that two year old
town of $500 population where 20 per
cent of the Bermuda onions shipped
last spring were raised. Where but
years ago the musquito and cactus jun
gle was the home of coyote and the
"Janetine" the deer and the Mexican
goat roamed at will.
1t was the writers privil ege to see
this country reclaimed from the Jungle
and being cultivated by northern far
mers into one of the richest parts of the
great south land. Arriving at Monte
Christie, Is miles inland from Mission
we found Hi Mendenhall and family
happily situated with dozen other in
trepid pioneers as happy and busy as a
so acres of this fertile Rio Grande soil
into an orange grove, with spinach and
radishes pulled from their own garden
and other vegetables rapidly making
good.
1t was good to the ears to hear His
stentorian tones bidding as welcome,
and visit to his farm was revelation.
He has piped an entire 40 acre ranch
with hydrants 80 feet apart and has the
ground mellowed down like garden
and he says when he gets his oranges
and grapes planted he will have the
finest place in the valley. The Melado
tract on which Mr.. Mendenhalls land
is situated is said by all soil experts to
be the best for all purposes and especial
ly fruits and cotton in southwest Texas,
and superior TO California. Some
Mexicans near Monte Christie with their
primative farming methods raised 10
acres of cotton which Averaged better
than half bale TO the acre and the
orange trees, Is years old on the same
ranch, "Vela's' bore their 18th crop of
luscious fruit without any expert at
tention.
Texas, an empire in itself is just
coming into its own, for years it was
considered from the narrow view of
Mark Twain, who said If he owned
Texas and Sheol' he would sell Texas. ,
But opportunity is everywhere and from
Beaumont to Brownsville along the
famous Gulf Coast farms and fruit
orchards are developing from the once
despised land.
A trip of this kind at this time of the
year is an eyeopener to an Iowa man
and will broaden his vision and spur
him on to further achievements. ~