The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-09-18
''PRONISE Ed lAND''
DECLARED IRVING
GREAT ENGLISH WRITER
MADE GLOWING PRE-
DICTION
HAS LONG Since FULFILLED
Reunion Visitors In September at Tul.
sa VIII See Monument To
irving Who Visited
the Spot in 1882.

Tulsa, Okla, August-In the early
thirties, the renowned Washington Irv-
ing came over from England nd made
a tour Of parts of the Unit 4 States.
His tour to the southwest included
stop among the Indians at the pres
ent location Of the city Of Tulsa. Lo-
CO! history nas it that he paused on
an eminence about mile northwest
Of the center Of the present business
district Of Tulsa, and took compre-
hensive view of the valley Of the ar
kansas spread out before him. The
following description of the land
scape, and prophecy Of the future
wealth of the community, appears in
his sketches of the American tour:
"This seems to me to be the Prom
ised Land, flowing with milk and
honey. On the rich herbage Of the
prairies will be fed herds of cattle
as innumerable as the sands upon the
seashore. And the flowers that bedeck
the prairies will be paradise for e
nectar-loving being"
This was written October 13, 1882,
about the time Of year that the 2stn
annual reunion of the Confederate
Veterans Association will be held this
year at Tulsa. The dates of the re
union are September 24-27 inclusive,
or some ten days earlier in the fall
than the dates upon which Irving
wrote his appreciation of the valley
of the Arkansas. Visitors to the re
union will have an opportunity to en-
Joy. the same river panorama, made
more beautiful and promising by mod
ern enterprise and a city of $4,000
people. The greatest agricultural
section Of Oklahoma is along the Ar
kansas, above and below the city OF
Tulsa, a land now flowing with milk
and honey, fulfilling the Irving prorh-
ecy if not discounting it,
One of the beauty spots around
Tulsa is Irving Circle, on the crest OF
a ridge north of the city now beauti-
tilted by handsome residences. a
monument has ben erected there com
memorating the visit and prophecy OF
Washington Irving nlads more than
eighty years ago. The idea was orig
mated and carried out5sby w. Tate
Brady, chairman Of the General Con-
mittee Of the Confederate reunion Or
ganization. In the meantime, the
prophecy Of the great English writer
has been discounted many times.
The comparatively ancient settle
ments Of the Indians around Tulsa and
throughout the, state are full of in
terest. The footprints >of the Indian
have been obIterated by the march
of modern progress, but his name ling
ers. Where he formerly had his tent
ed villages, or wigwam abodes, cities
have been built and towns laid out.
His hunting grounds on the Arkansas
have been converted into rich and
productive farms. Alfalfa has taken
the place Of prairie grass, and domes-
tic cattle Craze in former haunts of the
wild beast.
All over Oklahoma prosperous towns
and cities have been built They are
laid out along modern lines of city
building, and their people are enter
prising and patriotic. Tulsa holds
first place among Oklahoma cities for
enterprise and progress. The city
has grown more in the past ten years
than any other city in the great south
west. It is amply able to care for a
large number Of visitors, such as at
tend the annual reunions Of the
Confederate soldiers. : Had it not pos
sessed az of the facilities for caring
for the reunion, the Confederates
would not have been urged to come
here with their 1918 meeting. All who
come to the reunion will be cared for
in most satisfactory manner.