The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1914-03-13
FROM THE SUNNY SOUTH
Interesting Observations Of an
Okanoganite at Large
Down in Texas

Hubbard Texas, Mar 8, 1914.
Editors Gazette AS | wound up my
last letter with my arrival at Houston
[ will pick up the threads at that
point and endeavor, in my crude way.
to describe my wanderings from that
point.
My first trip from Houston was to
Galveston, on the interurban, good,
solidly built and we'll equipped electric
line, so miles in length, trains leaving
Houston every hour from a. m to
10 p. m., fare So for the round trip.
Leaving Houston at a. M, we passed
through a low, level country, with
black baxby soil, very rich, but the
land is so low that after the torrenticl
rains water stands on the ground to
a considerable depth. When the fact
is considered that as much as 1S inch
es of water has fallen in this district
in "a hours it will be understood that
drainage is very important necessity
and that drainage districts are being
formed and large amounts voted for
installing drainage systems. l think
that within the course of a very few
years this district will have ample
drainage, and also plenty of good shell:
roads, of which Harris county, where
Houston is situated, now boasts of
some 3O5 miles, costing something like
$4,000 per mile to construct. In adj
dition to the shell roads this same
county has 23OO miles of we'll graded
roads costing $3.50 per mile. This
county alone has expended over ST.
100000 for the improvement of the
public highways. Houston is also be-
coming prominent as an educational
center, the Rice Institute being 20
Gated here, and it is classed as one of
the largest and best American schools.
The part of Harris county lying south
of Houston is being cut up into small
tracts, and occupied by fruit and truck
growers. Here we find the magnolia
fig, which makes the most delicious
preserves that have ever tickled r1y
palate.
A little further on we came to
Algoa. situated in the midst of the
citrus industry. The soil is a deep
sandy loan. The rainfall is Al inches.
Fruit and truck growing are the lead
ing industries. The Satsuma orange is
grown here with success, and a large
acreage of figs and Strawberries.
These fruits are produced and shipped
by the car loads. Camphor trees are
also grown here for both ornamental
and commercial purposes The bee
and honey business also flourishes
here, and the poultry industry has
grown to large proportions.
On little further and we are upon
the giant causway which connects the
main land with Galveston island. This
causway is built of concrete, some 40
feet wide, and something over two
miles long. Over this causway passes
all trains, and is in fact, the only
meains of communication from the
island to the main land, and was built
jointly by Galveston county and the
railroads, which use it as a road way.
AS we leave the causway we find orr
selves in the city of Galveston, a typi-
cal southern sea port. 1t is one of
the great deep water ports of the
United States, ranking second to New
York in the Importance of it's foreign
commerce. Lines of steamers fryin
Galveston reach nearly every imp. rt-
ant port of the world. 1t also ranks
fifth among the cities of Texas as a
manufacturing center, and ranks first
in the world as a cotton exporting
port. 1t also holds high rank in the
fish and oyster industry and as an
important jobbing point. 1t is famed
for its great sea wall, constructed by
the county, which together with the
U. s. government wall borders the
city on the gulf side for a distance of
four miles This wall is bordered by
a brick driveway it's entire length The
city is also noted for it's grade raising
operation, which raised the city II II
feet above mean low tide on the gulf
side, the grade slanting toward Gal
"aston bay, on the north side of the
city. The sea wall cost Galveston
county $1,5OO,OOO, the grade operation
cost 100000 more. Galveston was
the first city in the United States to
adopt the commission form of gov ern
ment. One of the leading industries
is dredging oyster shells from the bay
which are used by the thousands of
car loads annually for road making
throughout the whole southeastern
Texas country. Galveston is very
nice city. not one, however, in which
l would care to reside, as l would be
somewhat afraid of another tidal wave
and secondly the population is fully
so per cent. negroes. l drift down to
the wharves and watch them loading
and unloading the ships. They seem
to be a very good class of labor and
pay no attention to the abuse heaped