Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1932-02-25
w. @. SPIII1MAN WRITES
OF HIS SOUTHERN TRIP

(My trip to sunshine land and
Old Mexico, directed by Ray T..
Kelsey Of The Ohio Farmer:
I will endeavor to give to the
readers Of this welcome news week
ly few high spots of our trip We
left Columbus on Feb. at 3
O'Clock p. M, with IS in the party,
our train being made up of diner,
two pullmans, and one observation
car. To tell twho was who," each
one was given badge with name
and county. For our entertain
ment on the way, Mr. and Mrs. Earl
G. Reed of Columbus, the former
assistant tour director, furnished
moving pictures, music, games and
contests. After crossing the Ohio
river at Cincinnati, we were called
for our first meal in section of
the largest dining room in the
world (the diner). Feb. z Our
first stop was at Memphis, Tenn,
where we were shown many inter-
esting scenes of the city, and here
we had our first view of the Mis-
sissippi river, which was very high.
Crossing the river we Travelled south
through large cotton plantations
Early morning of the 9Th we were
in the sugar-cane belt in Louisiana.
We soon came to the Mississippi
again, where our entire train was
floated across on a ferry, arriving at
New Orleans, where the famous
Mardi Gras was in full swing, with
beautiful floats and costumes. New
Orleans is known as the city called
Half and half" 458,000 inhabi
tants and 100000 buried. The
burying is done above ground.
Ovens compose a seven foot wall
around the cemetery, one side for
the poorer classes, with another for
the weather. class Many inter-
esting things can be seen in this
city, including old Spanish mark
cts, and French regime, now a most
interesting museum, and the table
or block, as it is called, on which
they placed slaves to be sold. From
here we were taken for a boat trip
along New Orleans harbor, where
there were many incoming and out
going vessels, representing many
foreign lands.
Feb. 8: Arrived at Alexander,
where we enjoyed trip through
the Red river valley by bus. This
trip was sponsored by the chamber
of commerce. Sugar cane and rice
fields were in abundance. Each one
was presented, with package of
Spanish moss, which forms On limbs
of live oak trees, making them re-
semble weeping willow. Feb. 10.
At Houston, Tex. Here we saw
man made harbor at the end of a
50-mile canal, which has brought
the sea to the city. On leaving
Houston, we went to Galveston
crossing the giant causeway two
miles long, spanning an arm of Cal
weston harbor. Then we were TAX
en- another boat ride and on return
ing had the pleasure of going
through German cruiser, but it
was more of a pleasure for some of
the party to get out, as they got
lost and could not find their way
out. There were $50 Germans of
the crew. Feb. Il, at Kingsville,
we were shown over a part of the
King ranch, which consists of / :,
100000 acres, with it's $4,000 head
of cattle. This ranch is looked at
ed by seven trustees. During our
visit here we saw what they call
round up of 1000 cattle in the open
field where IA cowboys riding
broncoes, cutting out dry COWS from
calves old enough to wean, and
then the younger calves were
caught and branded. This ranch
has thousands of Brahma cattle i'm
ported from India. A barbecue
lunch was served here. Feb. IL
found us in the Rio Grande valley
with the land sharks. This valley
is adapted for all kinds of veg
etables the year around, and also
grape fruit. Visiting the Browns
vile air port we saw the Interna-
tional mail and passenger plane en-
route " MEXICO City. crossing the !
border into Matamoras, Mexico, for
a few hours, we kissed the Volstead |
act good bye, but letting our con-
science be our guide, we did not in
dulge. Here we enjoyed wild |
game dinner at Mother Leonard's S I
most famous eating place. Rules |
governing the return across the bor-
der must be observed. Feb. 13 we |
visited large groves of citrus fruit,
packing houses, cotton baling plant |
and were given an irrigation dem
onstration. Feb IA, found us in
Corpus Christi, meaning the (body
of Christi, the jewel of Texas. Here |
We were given list of the church
es with the privilege of attending t
where we wished. In the afternoon
we had the pleasure of another ride |
on the Gulf, where we saw "Old
ia sr~sSRNs@sas-~aaNesaAs-staNessaSsS1Ne1 ~