The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1919-10-02
OLD TEXAS FRIEND
CALLS ON SUNDAY

tBy S ]. Mitchell. in Houston. Tex,
Post)
The history of thrilling baseball in
Houston goes away back into the sos.
when there was a cleanup made in the
Teaxs League, with Houston easily on
top. Everyone sad: You Just can't
beat 'em. They have combination
with that guy Billy Sunday holding the
key, and he 5 worse than bulldOg-he
won't turn loose.
That's Just the way the opposing cit
les, with their clubs. were talking, and
from that on they just grew Estless. as
far as any hope of making a creditable
showing was concerned.
But the big leagues soon took notice,
and plucked Billy away from the Tex
as League, and he literally took his
second sack with him in the campaign
| of aggressiveness that made him in
| stantly popular everywhere.
Years rolled along and Billy turned
his second base into a.broader field Of
activity. and widened it into pulpit,
| from which he draws as many, alone,
as may be seen on a fine day at the
| New York Polo grounds. He was al
ways impolite enough to discuss the
equity of close decisions with the Tex
as umpires. and his flow of language,
even at that early date. was the sub
| jeet of admiration. He is pre-emi-
nently the man with punch. and goes
in but little for theological methods,
claiming that too much of it often
mars or obscures the truth.
| But with all the wear and tear on
his constitution that so much strenuous
work must entail Billy must have some
| relaxation. and he shows another side
of himself as a successful ranch owner
in the Hood River valley of Oregon.
IL am only granting the devil tue :
out here, he said, while | enjoy the
pure air that blows from snow covered
sleeping draught.
Sunday is nothing if not versatile,
and while he can soar away to the
heights nj idealism, he is equally sue
cessful in commercializlng his work.
| In all his engagements he first has to
talk it over with Ma, and this means
that his transactions will terminate in
a distinct compensation for Billy.
But with all the wealth he accumu-
lates. much of it is put to a good and
| charitable use. and he often takes the
lead with good round donation to any
worthy cause.
1t is. after all. the wonders of Witch
| Mountain that allured Sunday, lust as
many other nature worshippers have
been chained in her enchanting spell.
No one ever tires OF the mountain. for,
like kaleidoscope, it never presents
the same picutre any two hours of the
day. 1t is like a realistic painting on
which some unseen Titan with an in.
visible brush and easel pours out his
inspiration in the colors of nature
! Now the sun may sparkle with bril-
| lance lndescrlbable on particles OF
snow tipped peaks mad vast snow fields
and glaciers. The peak itself rises in
to the sky as limpid as a sylvan lake
where nymphs and gnomes come to
peer and mirror themselves for their
morning toilet. But in moment this
vista may pass from view. A sudden
cloud rolls together and throws its
shadow over the Witch Mountain.
1t is the land of the nimrod in the
fall season and among the crags anC
crevasses mountain goat, bear anC
deer abound. the latter often bolC
enough to raid the growing grain. Ap
pie harvesting is a wonderful sight
One sees familiar auto truck. loadeC
with bowers of choice fruit and rum
bling alcng the half paved roads to the
town of Hood River. The man at tn,
wheel is infinitely happy. He knows
them all. They all know him. Ht
doesn't look in the least ecclesiastical
but it is Billy Sunday. Just the same