STEALING AN EXCURSION.
One of the most amusing incidents of the time occurred in the Spring of 1875. A man by the name of George W. Cole from somewhere up in Pennsylvania had plotted a townsite out in Palo Pinto County which he called Lamar. He alleged in his advertisements that it would be a division point on the Texas & Pacific. He sold a good many lots to the “sucker” element that is always ready to grab at any thing that sounds cheap. He went over to Tennessee and worked up an excursion to come and see Texas. It was farthest from his thought to show them Lamar. He only intended to let them see what a good country Texas was. Hearing about the excursion, the Democrat got out an extra edition, telling about Tarrant county in general and Fort Worth in particular. The editor took a bundle of the papers and went to Texarkana to meet the excursion train. It took breakfast at that place and while the excursionists were enjoying their mututinal meal, the papers were distributed in every seat in the train. After they had time to look the paper over, the editor went through the train and made their acquaintance. He so ingratiated himself with them that by the time the train reached Dallas, they were nearly all ready to come on to Fort Worth, to which place he promised them free transportation. That night he preempted every seat in the stage coaches and engaged hacks for the rest of the party. They spent the night at the Crutchfield Hotel and in the morning were to have had a reception by the business men. General W. L. Cabell was the mayor of the town. When the hour for the reception arrived there was no one to receive. They had gone to Fort Worth, where they had a royal good time. Later some of them settled in Tarrant County. Mayor Cabell said he had heard of thefts of every kind but that it was the first time he ever heard of any one stealing an excursion.