Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-01-24
creasing and the water coming hig

creasing and the water coming high
err up the beach. We all concluded
we had better get back to the boat.
We had a mile or more to walk thru
sand and when we got to the boat
the pilot was in a harry to get start
ed as the waves were running pretty
high in the bay. There were twenty
one passengers going back and the
little boat had about all it could
carry. They placed a tarpaulin about
one side of the boat to the wind
ward to keep the water from being
thrown into the boat. II done some
good but let in quite a little bit of
water before we got across. In order
to get more speed the boat men
put up a sail. they said to steady the
boat. When we got out little way
and struck pretty high waves the
boat would swing from side to side
and jump forward like 1t was alive.
There was a lady on board and when
the boat would lurch to one side she
would scream at the top of her
voice, and when it went the other
way she would give a wall that
would make your nerves Jingle, and
when the boat would pitch forward
and throw water clear over the boat
and into il she would evolve a scream
so wild, wierd and piercing that
thought / felt the hair stand straight
up on my bald head, She kept it up
all the way across. She said if she
ever got off that boat alive she
would never go on the water again.
hi tty.rr \
joyed it. There was a pile of life
preservers close to my feet and
was in readiness to crab one il it
became necessary. The screaming
lady got pretty wet from spray and
water, as did all or us. When we
reached the pier the waves were run
ming so high we could not get along
side. They finally got the prov up
to it and then rope over a beam
and held it fast. We had to walk
out on the prov. reach our hands
up to two men and be pulled up.
l was among the last to leave the
boat and when l reached the top
and looked over the bay at the high
rolling waves it did look dangerous
to a little boat heavily loaded, and
l concluded the lazy had good reas-
on to be frightened. We took the
train for Brownsville and arrived
there about dark.
! Much of the land around this city
for a good many miles is held by
| large land owners VINO are not yet
ready to sell it. A man by the name
of Butler from Chicago, owns sew
eral thousand acres. He lives here
| in the winter and | have become
pretty well acquainted with him. He
has car and took me out one day
/ to look at his land. He has some
of the richest land in the valley. He
built the first irrigation pumping
plant in the valley it is located about
| four miles from here. He sold il
out several years ago. He is an old
man and taking life easy. One large
tract of land beginning about eight
miles south of here running to the
coast and mouth of the Rio Grande
river country. comprises fifty-four
! thousand acres. 1t is an old Spanish
grant and has been in one family
| for two hundred and fifty years.
have become acquainted with one of
| the heirs. young, well educated,
sociable Spaniard, who speaks splen-
did English and is fast as lightning
in Spanish and Mexican-Spanish. He
lives here in town and / have made
two trips with him in his car over
parts of this land. There are a mum
Der of heirs and some of them want
to sell. There are about five-thous.
and acres under cultivation along
( the river Sometimes thav have
good crops and sometimes they do
not. Where | was with him they
/ had cotton, corn, beans, watermel-