Our Catholic Heritage, Volume VII

Coltmibi.anis,n in Texas

forth to conquer the hearts of Catholic men of goodwill desirous of joining them in the great crusade for Church. God, and Country. A day later on May 9, the delegation arrived in Dallas at 4 :oo P.M. It was given an enthusiastic reception by the prospective members and carried in buggies and surreys to the St. George Hotel. The ceremony of initiation and installation of the new council was undertaken imme- diately after arrival and in the election of officers that followed, J. A. McAleer was elected Grand Knight. Next morning, shortly after six, the pioneers from El Paso were joined by many of the new Knights of Columbus of Dallas on their journey to Fort Worth. At ten in the morn- ing, they all attended a High Mass at St. Mary's. and that afternoon initiation was held and the Fort Worth Council was formally instituted, the ceremonies being followed by a "sumptuous" banquet at the Fort Worth Hotel. There was no time to tarry. Early on the morning of May II, the El Paso Knights boarded the Tiso11ia again. accompanied by so many new brother Knights from Dallas and Fort Worth that all space available was filled, including the aisles. On to Galveston moved the caravan, to the great port now known as the City of Oleanders. They travelled through the day and on till 10 :oo P.M. It was too late on arrival, and they were somewhat exhausted, to start work that night. Next day, on May 12, 1903, the Galveston candidates were initiated and the third new Council formally established. The El Paso Knights, and many of those who accompanied them, were too weary to continue their travels; they decided to spend May 13 in Galveston, where, with traditional hospitality, the new Knights took their guests fishing and sailing and entertained them "in genuine knightly fashion." The El Paso delegation and their friends went on to Houston on May 14, where they interviewed the leading Catholics of the city and made arrangements for the institution of a Council in the near future. They then boarded the Tisonia and rolled on to the City of Alamo, where they arrived on May 15 and were enthusiastically welcomed by the prospective candidates. The El Paso pioneering Knights made their headquarters in the Tis<mia, the accompanying new Knights from Dallas, Fort Worth, and Galveston, who had been crowded into the Pullman for the trip, were given the best hospitality available by the Catholic men of San Antonio. All were taken for a tour in the historic city founded back in 1718, where the saintly Fray Antonio Margi! and many others had labored so faithfully in years gone by. Needless to say, they visited the five missions:

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