A Great Excursion
Matt Pierce Takes Big Bunch to Collegeport, Texas
Military Band of Red Oak Gives Out Music on the Trip.

One of the biggest excursions, distance and duration considered, as well as the number who took the trip, which ever left Red Oak was that of the Hurd Land Company which left Red Oak Tuesday evening in two special cars bound for the Gulf Coast country. The plans have been under the management of Matt Pierce, a resident manager of the Burton D. Hurd Company, and for the past two weeks he had been very active in his efforts to make this the biggest thing of the kind ever pulled off in this neck o’ the woods, and that he succeeded is evidenced by the large and enthusiastic bunch of representative citizens who went south with the two fine private sleeping cars Tuesday evening. The trip will extend over a period of ten days, and includes numerous stops on the way to the Gulf, and several days stay at Collegeport, with side trips in to Old Mexico and by steamer out on the Gulf of Mexico, and all other features—such as the possible opportunities of buying land or town lots at prices which are “dirt” cheap, the trip alone will be worth many times the amount it costs those who go. Besides the following number from Red Oak who took advantage of the opportunity and visited the Gulf Coast Country with the excursionists, there are several from other points in Iowa and Missouri:

The excursion was in charge of Mr. J. V. Brasfield, who is employed by the Hurd Company to accompany all such trips and see that everyone is comfortable and happy, and it is hard to imagine his job being a different one with the fine cars and service at their disposal. At Kansas City the train was augmented by the addition of several more coaches and an engine especially allotted to the use of their train, and there were to be no more delays until their destination was reached. The taking of the band to Texas on a trip of such a distance is rather a rare undertaking, and Mr. Pierce, who engineered the project, is receiving considerable praise for his enterprise. It will be a fine trip, and with the sail on the briney, the oysters and fish fresh from the deep, and many other nautical and tropical features, will be one which will prove a rare treat to many who are numbered among the fortunate ones who went.

Red Oak Express, October 7, 1910
 

THE HURD PARTY 100 STRONG

Spends a Few Hours in Bay City and
Proceeds to Collegeport at 4 p.m.

Personally conducted by G. M. Magill, secretary of the company, the regular homeseekers excursion party of the Burton D. Hurd Land Co. arrived in Bay City via the Gulf Coast Line shortly after noon today. The party numbers 100 homeseekers, occupying four special tourist cars, and brass band of Red Oak, Ia.

At the station the four special cars were left by the regular train to give the strangers opportunity to inspect the county seat and metropolis of the county in which they expect to locate. Headed by the band a dozen vehicles were loaded to capacity with the eager and curious visitors, many of whom had never before trod ground beneath the surface of which Jack Frost never penetrates, and while the band played, the procession covered the principal streets of the city, from which the strangers could view the business houses and many of the homes and premises of our prosperous people--premises where the orange and lemon tree and the rose and cape jessamine grow.

Afterward they were conducted to the Cash orange, fig and pecan orchard, where five acres of orange trees are loaded down with almost matured fruit and where from five acres of fig trees revenue has been derived this year warranting a valuation of $1000 an acre.

At 4 o'clock the party boarded their cars and were taken to Collegeport running as a special train from here. There they will be shown the town and acreage properties of the Hurd Company tomorrow and Tuesday night will join with the citizens of Collegeport in a celebration on account of the completion of the railroad to Collegeport.

For this occasion it would be very well for business men and other citizens of Bay City to arrange for a special train from Bay City to run to and from Collegeport that night, so that we may also participate in the celebration and show our interest in the progress of the new community which is growing up so near us. This step would also encourage the management of the Gulf Coast Line in the matter of making Bay City one of the termini of the Collegeport branch--a matter in which every business concern of the town is vitally interested.

The Matagorda County Tribune, October 14, 1910
 

Trip To The Lone Star
A Few Interesting Things Seen Upon the Recent Trip to Texas
A Jolly Bunch of Tourists Enjoy Two Weeks of Rare Pleasure

Texas, ho! And Home Again! The bunch got back a few days behind schedule, but hearing how well they liked it down on the beach of Matagorda bay it may be wondered at that they returned at all.

The enthusiastic excursionists returned last Saturday evening, and when we say enthusiastic we mean that from the way they talk and act, and from the fact that many of them invested in property in the Lone Star state, home and mother—and incidentally Iowa and a few of her supreme attractions—is about all that ever made it necessary for the Burton D. Hurd Land Company to run their excursion train on the homeward trip.

“Finest trip I ever had,” is the general expression, and others do not attempt to express in mere words their pleasure. Nothing occurred to mar the pleasure of the whole trip, and the eleven days were care-free and restful, with plenty to see and do to interest the most indifferent traveler.

One of the party has given the Express an idea of the trip something as follows:

“We were three days and three nights each way on the road, but with the special train, with no stopping and starting at all stations, and with no crowding and moving around, no changes in the character of the crowd, and just one ‘happy family’ going and coming, the trip was one of constant pleasure. The band boys enjoyed themselves to the limit, and made even the darkies in the black belt take notice as we passed through. The ride upon the briny deep was a rare treat for most of us Iowans whose aquatic delights have been mostly confined to bath-tubs and the Nishnabotna. There were two boats at our service, the sailing vessel, the ‘American,’ and a launch, the ‘Dena H.’ named for Mrs. Burton D. Hurd, and the trip was from Collegeport to Portsmouth, a distance of eighteen miles. I went over on in the ‘American’ and back on the ‘Dena H.’ and so enjoyed both modes of water travel. Our second ride was out of Galveston, when we went in a launch out of Galveston bay out into the Gulf of Mexico, and which was, really, our first trip on what might be said to be the ‘briney deep.’ While Tress Palacios bay is briney and deep enough as bays go, it is not so rough or thrilling an experience as being right out upon the bosom of that greatest of gulfs which is in reality an ocean of itself. None of the party suffered from sea-sickness, and may imagine themselves to be real sailors because of this fact. On this trip we beheld many strange and interesting sights—the jetties, forts, lighthouses, light ship, wireless telegraph station, etc. The music of the band sounded very fine upon the water.

“It would be useless to attempt to tell of but a small portion of the many things of interest upon the trip. The itinerary included among its chief cities Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita, Chickasha, Ft. Worth, Houston, Dallas, Galveston—and Collegeport, and covered a distance of 2200 miles for the round trip. We saw among many other things not seen in these parts, oil wells, coal mines, rock and rail fences, cotton gins, rice mills, oyster fisheries, Negro quarters (differing materially from the ‘colored’ quarters in the north), cotton fields, rice fields, and rarest of all, one of those mystical phenomenas called a mirage, a sight not common even upon the plains. Rare flora and fauna—tropical life of all kingdoms and species—were one of the features of the trip most interesting to a student of nature, while to others the study of the agricultural conditions, or the social, or scenic, might have appealed. It may be said that Texas is certainly a great state—not only in its physical dimensions but in its resources and possibilities. It has great rivers, fine cities and fertile soil, and in most parts, according to the evidence we could gain, excellent climate. The coast country is particularly pleasant as to climate, where the heat of the tropical sun is tempered by the ocean breeze, and where the temperature is seldom oppressive. Building costs less here than in the north by reason of the climate which makes it unnecessary to build homes with a view to combat the cold, and large and commodious, and presumably comfortable homes are found. Most of them have a fire place for use in the chill of the rainy seasons. The vegetation is a delight to the eye, and the palms, banana trees, umbrella trees, fig and other fruit trees and the hanging mosses all give to the northern mind the idea of a fairy land. The highways are mostly in excellent shape, and it is being so close to the oil fields, many of the roads through the country are oiled, which makes them very excellent and pleasant thoroughfares.

“Much might be said of the Matagorda country that is not down in the advertisements of the land company. It is a picturesque spot, with a fine view down Palacios bay clear into the greater bay of Matagorda. It is already a fine little city and improving rapidly and all indications point toward it becoming an Iowa colony. If this were an advertisement I might say more about the products of the country, the advantages of soil and climate, the rainfall, the irrigating canal for the rice fields, the artesian water and other features which, it is claimed, make the Gulf Coast Country the garden spot of the South.

“From the standpoint of a pure pleasure trip, without reference to any commercial or business opportunities, I am sure there was not one of the party that did not feel amply repaid for the cost and time of the trip. And, too, many of them made investments which they hope will prove profitable. Every courtesy was shown the party by the Hurd people, and many side trips and pleasurable items not down upon the regular program were ‘thrown in’ which added much to the enjoyment of all. We passed through a great deal of interesting territory, and while the near-drouth of the north was a nearer-drouth in the south, and all the streams are unusually low by reason of the dry season, vegetation and fruit has thrived well.

“Our party arrived at Collegeport Friday evening, October 7, on the first special over the new railroad. We were met by a large delegation of citizens with conveyances and our stay of four and one-half days was made a pleasant one. We met several former Montgomery county people in that vicinity among them being Mr. and Mrs. Geo. D. Ross, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Ross, Mr. and Mrs. John Olson, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Welsby, Arthur Larson and Miss Mabel Tracy, all looking well and none expressing themselves as homesick. With the exception of Miss Tracy, who is for the present visiting her sister, Mrs. Ray Ross, the parties named have comfortable and pleasant homes and are planning greater for the future Tuesday, October 11, we celebrated the coming of the new railroad and listened to an interesting program, able speakers telling us at length of the possibilities not only of Collegeport but of the mid-coast section, the country lying between the Trinity and Brazos rivers. From Collegeport we went to Galveston, a side trip, and one full of interest. Space and time prevents us from giving an account of our trip in detail, a trip in which every mile added only increased our enthusiasm and our store of knowledge, and one which our only regrets were that our friends could not enjoy it with us. Our party when homeward bound was broken by the departure of many who took side trips. The Messrs E. M. Murphy and A. L. Taylor left us at El Reno, Okla,; W. H. Stafford at Caldwell, Kansas, Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Lackey, at Kansas City, E. Evans, Walter Anderson and Chas. Turner returned home at an earlier date. Albin Drott, remained in Collegeport, as did several other from various points in Illinois, Kansas, North Dakota and Missouri.

‘Texas’ It makes one think of a ‘Tophetic temperature,” long horned cattle, Indians and cowboys. The great state larger than half a dozen of the northern states carries to the average mind the idea of vast and unbroken prairies, where cattle range at will from one end of the great domain to the other. And such it used to be before the farmer and horticulturist began to realize that the Lone Star State had other uses than the beeves. There are possibilities in Texas, and they are not confined to the Gulf country. But, that too, is another story.

Red Oak Express, October 21, 1910
 

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