development followed. Streams a foot in diameter are ceaselessly pumped from shallow wells but the main supply comes from the bayous and rivers. The network of canals, ditches and fields is best viewed from the top of the First National Bank building. One mile west on the Old Spanish Trail is the rice experiment station that has done so much to develop the rice industry of America. Visitors can learn many interesting tilings from Superintendent J. M. Jenkins.
EGAN HOTEL is best. The INN is new and attractive. Camp, in town, 50c.
MERMENTAU RIVER. Store, country hotel, camp space. A beautiful river.
♦JENNINGS. Another real American city developed by the rice industry; also fine staple cotton. Evangeline oil field G mi. east where one well made nearly 4,000,000 bbls. South 14 mi. is Lake Arthur und the village and the hunting club with its nation-wide membership, for south thru the Mermentau River are Grand Lake, Mallard Bay, a myriad of inlets, wild lands, and marshes, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Lake Arthur Club has a preserve of 11,000 A. Eastward are the Rockefeller and Sage wild life preserves facing the gulf for 75 mi. Here lie the natural winter refuges of birds and their feeding grounds, and now the rice fields add to their joys. Ducks and geese in their season blacken the skies, these preserves are tlicir protection. The Jennings Chamber of Commerce will gladly help Old Spanish Trail hunters or fishermen. The HOTEL ARDENNES at Jennings is modern, nicely furnished and liked. The LAKE ARTHUR HOTEL, at. (he lake, mis. only. Free camp space available.
More Mileage Sta. service day and night; also repairs, genuine Ford parts and other service. C. K. Stackhouse, (lie owner, is attentive. Broussard Service Sta. is good; Dunlop tires, Pan-Ain Gas. Also well liked.
WELSH. Rice, cotton, cattle and a nice little city. HOTEL ABBOTT, new, many rms. with bath. Nice free camp in park, south; shady, swimming pool.
"LAKE CHARLES. A deep-water port and metropolis of Southwest Louisiana on Calcasieu River and Lake Charles. Fine residence city. Cotton, rice, cattle and gem oral farming; important oil fields near. MAJESTIC HOTEL, 1(10 rms., popular old southern type. Also CHEROKEE and RIGMAIDEX HOTELS, moderate. Camp space near lake. Inf.—Association of Commerce.
CALCASIEU RIVER.
SULl’IIUR. Exhausted sulphur mines near; superheated steam forced to the sulphur beds far underground melted the sulphur and compressed air forced it to the surface. Large mines now south of Houston. Country hotel. Camp on OST at Elleuders Service Sta.
VINTON. 1.8,000 A. of rice around Vinton—a million dollar crop. Ged oil field 4 mi. south, producing since 1911-SHAW HOTEL, 32 rms. modern, good cooking; free car storage. Cabin camp 50c to $1.00, good. Inf.—I. N. WetkeriU, at Calcasieu Bank.
LOUISIANA-TEXAS STATE LINE
Sabine Kivcr.
The npw bridge 3 mi. long will be completed in Octobei. It is costing $1,000,000, the cost shared by the Orange and Lake Charles districts, the states of Louisiana and Texas, and Federal Aid funds. Mnnv years spent struggling wit i the financial difficulties; then when (lie contractors began, floods and marshes, alligators and pests, sink holes aim discouragements, had to be conquered. But this is the stoiy
1S
of most of the Old Spanish Trail construction, costs that were an acul test of faith, engineering that knew no defeat builders equal to every demand.
nn0CUerl-'; essontin,Iy continuous until midnight, 75c and *,1.00. This ferry censes when bridge is opened.
TEXAS—929 MILES "ORANGE. Deep-water port and municipal docks. Large lumber interests of the Sabine River. Creosoting. pine paper
t lr™ ™rks- Important oil fields near. NEW HOLLAND HOTEL, good. Inf.—Chamber of Commerce.
EAST TEXAS
Orange to San Antonio, 329 miles Fin© driving across East Texas. There nre 171 ml. of first-class paving-, 15 ini. of fair hard surface, balance good gravel except 20 mi. Kichmond to East Bernard of black dirt, bad in u-ct weather. This is financed for pavement; a gravel and paved detour adding 8 mi. will soon lie ready. 25 mi. more paving now under contract. Complete pavement across East Texas is progressing steadily.
East Texas is one of the richest sections on the Old Spanish Trail. ^ Beaumont and Houston nro developing industrial and financial leadership and growing fust. Houston’s ship channel, with Galveston at the entrance, carries exports of 17 railroads.
In the Sabine District arc the Forts of Beaumont and Orange, Port Arthur mid Port Neelies, serving southeast Texas and contiguous states and themselves harboring big industrial plants and expanding rupldly.
This Sabine District is one of the big oil producing, refining, manufacturing, distributing and exporting centers of the U. S. Beaumont is also the commercial center of n rich agricultural and lumber region. Form produets of large acreage are sugar cane, figs, corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, sntsuma oranges, truck, goats, sheep, cattle and poultry.
Texas Is large. One-third of the Old Spanish Trail Is in Texas. Travelers, seeing so much unsettled country, get mistaken ideas. Texas has proven Its agricultural fertility, yet its vast area is developed only in spots. In South and Enst Texas those areas offer unusual opportunities to the homesceker and liomescokors are coming in large numbers. Hydro-electric power lines, oil pipe lines and natural gas lines total tens of thousands of miles and new lines being continually constructed. New hotels ulong the Old Spanish Trail just built or now building total over 830.000,000 in Texas alone.
West of Houston, to San Antonio, the rolling hills begin. This country is closely farmed, fertile, prosperous and pretty. The drinking water generally is good.
The battlefield of San .Jacinto Is east of Houston. There Gen. Sum Houston and ills bnnd of Texas patriots destroyed the army of Santa Ana and avoii Texas freedom from Mexico, April 21. 183G. The first attempt to disarm the patriots Avas at Gonzales, uoav knoAvn as the “Lexington of Texas,” October 2, 1835. Then came the fall of the Alamo, March G. 183G and the pursuit of Sam Houston’s little army by Santa Ana across Texas to the banks of the Sun Jnclnto Diver Avliere the rugged Texans sAvcpt thru tile Mexicans and Avon this land for Americans.
XECIIES RIVER. Long bridge nnd approaches involved many construction problems.
•BEAUMONT. Deep-water port and industrial city, center of a dozen oil fields, big refineries, shipyards, steel and tank ear and other manufacturing; commercial eeuter of the vast East Texas truck, fruit and farming areas and of the Louisiana-Texas rice growing region, tlie largest in (lie world. Living conditions are reflected by the fact Beaumont- shows die lowest death rate of any city in Texas.
Beaumont and the Sabine district have grown with the automobile; the ears and people of a million roads are moving by the mysterious power generated here. Spindle Top, in sight of Beaumont’s skyscrapers, was the first aud most famous gusher field in America; it produced 50.000,-000 l»l»ls. and was thought exhausted. Then the Yount-10