True stories of old Houston and Houstonians: historical and personal sketches / by S. O. Young. Page: 2

A Word in Advance
T HESE STORIES owe their being largely to chance. The
whole series was unintentionally begun. I wrote an
article for the Houston Chronicle, giving the correct
version of something that occurred in Houston forty years ago,
an inaccurate account of which had appeared in one of the newspapers.
Managing Editor Gillespi liked my story so much that
he asked me to write others of the same kind. I agreed to do
so, thinking that I could probably find material for half a dozen
stories. After I got started, each subject suggested another,
and so it has gone on, until now, the half dozen has grown into
the hundreds, with the end not yet in sight.
So many people have written to me asking that I print the
stories in book form, that I have determined to do so, and have
selected those found here as being, in my opinion, the best.
These letters have come from all parts of the state and from
several Eastern and Northern states. Then, too, people are constantly
writing to the Chronicle asking for back numbers containing
the stories, showing the demand for them.
I have enjoyed writing these stories, for each one has
brought back some pleasant memory, and I hope that all those
into whose hands this little book may fall, will enjoy reading
them.
THE AUTHOR.