Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-02-13
FEBRUARY 49,
ed to boat ride around the harbor,
where we saw many large ships load
and unloading This harbor is the
81 cond largest in the world We

0IlO OIlASs0Oluk 1nlS n8rDOT Is Lno
second largest in the world We
also saw the ruins of the old sea
wall. and the new one that has been
built to take it's place. This was the
twenty-third Of January and and
the thermometer registered 20 de-
grees. so Mr. Peters, Mr.. Lakings
and myself took advantage of the
time and place and went bathing in
the Gulf of Mexico which event we
enjoyed very much
After five hours stay in Galveston
! we boarded our train for Pharr and
Mission, new towns in the Rio
Grande Valley. which we should
have reached Friday morning, but
lost day on account of a wrecked
freight train and arrived there Fri
day night instead. Saturday night
about twenty autos and eighteen
"Fords" (Which all Of our party
we're successful in procuring) were
lined up by our train. We spent
the entire day in them looking over
this new tract of land and investiga-
ting the ACCESSIBILITY of purchasing.
We met many people from Iowa,
Illinois, North Dakota and South
Dakota. who were living there and
appeared to be prosperous and hap.
py.
The crops which we saw growing
were such as cabbage, cauliflower,
head lettuce, beets, turnips, radishes.
which fino ready market in the
northern states at this time Of year
The staple crops, snch as corn, cot.
ton, sugar cane. alfalfa, etc.. are
grown on the same land in summer.
We saw many young orchards of
orange, lemon, pear, peach, papalla,
and fig trees. date palms and other
fruits which grow readily in that
climate.
After looking over the land, some
members of our party purchased
and others secured options on these
tracts. The price of this land ranges
from $l5O to 5000 an acre, and the
land sold by the company on this
"trip, amounted to $245, 100000.
Returning to our train Saturday
evening we started for Brownsville,
which is located near where the Rio
Grande empties into the Gulf of
Mexico, and is about as far south as
one can get in the United States.
We spent the night there, and Sum
lay were rowad across the river by
Mexicans for the sum of two cents
each. Upon reaching foreign soil,
namely Old Mexico, we boarded the
street car which is propelled by
mule power, and after being de-
rallied twice and all having to alight
and help lift the car back onto the
rails, arrived in the city of Mata-
moros.
This city is over two hundred
years old. 1t is laid out in blocks
much as our cities are, but the
blocks are of solid bricks or mason
Try. The windows are barred with
with heavy iron bars and the heavy
doors are hung on hand made hinges.
Each block is the home of a sort of
colony, the space within having a
common court. which answered the
purpose of pasture for the cows,
goats, pigs and chickens. and as q
play ground for the children. We
visited the cathedral which is over
a hundred years old and whose altar
lights have never been allowed to
go out since it was built.
Their cemetery is located inside
of the city and is enclosed by a brick
wall The vaults are built of brick
on the surface Of th,. ground. The
remains are placed in these and q
marble slab, bearing the engraved
epitaph. placed at the entrance. We
were told that the remains are left
in the vault only as long as rent is
paid by relatives or friends. Wher
the rent ceases to be paid the re.
mains are removed to an enclosed
space, termed the 'boneyard."
The Maxican means of convovanca
is by OK carts of a primitive type.
The have two wheels and are drawn
by from two to four oxen.
Having heard q great deal about
the Mexican bull fights, l attended
one merely as source of education
1t is a cruel thing and | would not
[attend another. It is said that il
1 suo1,Li he sfnnr,od h., Tia Mo,.;nan.