During the first week of the fair we had the pleasure of the arrival of the Governor and his magnificent staff, which latter were in brilliant uniform and proved to be one of the most magnificent bodies of men we ever had to visit Dallas. They also brought their horse equipment, such as saddles, bridles, etc., and were accompanied by quite a number of ladies; if I remember correctly, there were fifty-two in the party, on a special train, and with the party was our friend, General Ryan, to whom the Governor had turned over the two hundred and fifty dollars appropriated for him to pay his expenses.
I regret to have to record that I was unable to secure the attendance of a large part of our Ranger organization, who seemed to have taken offense because we had the meeting at Dallas, really prompted by petty jealousies of the cities where they resided and, as a consequence, we had only twenty-four Rangers present.
The meeting of the Governors and the ceremonies attending the occasion, was had in the Machinery Hall at the Fair Grounds, which had a seating capacity, outside of the stage, of only about one thousand to twelve hundred. At the hour of the opening of the ceremonies the Indiana Governor, with his staff and ladies, were seated on one side of the stage with twenty-four vacant chairs in two rows, in front, on the opposite side of the stage and the rear portion of the stage, occupied by the city officials and prominent citizens of the town, the two Governors sitting together in the front part of the aisle.
When everything was ready I marched in the twenty-four Rangers present in column, by twos, headed by myself with Miss Ruth Phelps, carrying a Texas flag. Miss Ruth Phelps was the daughter of one of our Rangers and the only member of the Phelps family living and was lost in the Galveston storm the next year.
After forming the Rangers in two lines in front of their chairs, I introduced Governor Mount to everyone and he, in turn, introduced General Ryan and when General Ryan had reached and shaken hands with the last member on the second row, he came around in front, singing, “There is a land that is fairer than day,” in which the whole audience joined, standing, and I believe proved one of the most affecting scenes ever witnessed in this city. We then had several speeches before the Governor spoke, one by General Ryan, which evidenced considerable change in his attitude on the return of the flag and which, of course, was unknown to any one present, except Colonel Wylie and myself.
In the course of Senator Brinkley’s remarks he referred to the captured flag, when one of our Rangers jumped up, asking pardon for interrupting him, and saying he wanted the audience to understand that the flag was not captured, but it was found, when another one of our Rangers remarked: “Bill, you know they run us out of it; what’s the difference?” which, of course, created considerable merriment. Governor Mount happened to be sitting near me and remarked, “Graber, I thought you Rangers never run,” when I said to him, “Governor, if they hadn’t run a thousand times, there would not have been one left here to tell the tale. We always knew when to quit and didn’t require a bugle call to bring us out.”
Governor Mount next made one of the most patriotic speeches, characteristic of the man, ever listened to, which was responded to by Governor Sayers, who also, it is needless to say, did full justice to the occasion, as he, too, had been a gallant Confederate soldier.
After the closing of the speeches Governor Mount had the flag brought forward on the stage and, with a few appropriate remarks, handed it over to Governor Sayers, who also accepted it with appropriate remarks. Thus ended one of the grandest occasions ever had since the Civil War and its salutary effect on sectional feeling cannot be overestimated.
The Governor and staff remained with us three days. We had the best rooms at the Oriental Hotel assigned them and their hotel bills were paid by Camp Sterling Price, the Grand Army Post of Dallas and the Fair Association, and taking their expression on their visit, they left impressed with the grandeur of the Lone Star State and its people. Governor Mount and several members of his staff, among whom was Major Durban, who succeeded Governor Mount in the office of Governor, made me promise if I ever came anywhere near Indianapolis I must be sure to stop, as they wanted an opportunity to entertain me and I regret to have to report that I, on a business trip in that section, made a special visit to Indianapolis to meet them once more, when I found Governor Mount’s body prepared for burial. This changed my trip from that of pleasure to one of sadness and regret, and with this feeling, I did not stop, but passed through without making myself known.