The southern press., 1851-10-31
From ihs Journal Of Consnlerce.
GrOwth OF Texas.
GALvEsToN, Oct. lO

GALVESTON, Oci- lUliis 1901
Much has already been written upon the
growth and prosperity of this hourishing State
Texas is no doubt destined in the popular lam
guage of the day, to become the Empire State
OF the South" When her present debt shall
have been extinguished, as il speedily will be,
nope TO The satisfaction of all her creditors, and
the balance OF the ten millions appropriated to
internal improvements, railroads, the clearing
out OF her rivers and harbors, and the purposes
OF edueaton,--for which last by the way the
State has already funded nearly million OF dol
lars,-her resources will begin to be rapidly
developed.
Texas is almost the only State in the Union
having diversity of soil and climate suited TO
the various products of our wide spread country.
Embracing in her territorial limits an ares of
several hundred thousand square miles, with
several degrees of latitude and longitude we
find her producing, in one strict, all the grains
and fruits of the North, and in another, all the
staples Of the South, and the luxuries Of the
tropics. Cotton tobacco, wheat, corn, rye. oats,
potatoes &c., in the Northern range and Red
river district, of the g. st degree of latitude and
upwards,- and sugar, cotton, tobacco, rice and
all the tropical fruits farther South.
A the battle of San Jacin'o, Texas scarcely
numbered ten thousand souls she now has
nearly three hundred thousand. She has upwards
of one hundred organized counties, and is well
supplied with newspapers and post-otiices
throughout the State An intelligent traveller,
who has made recent our to the Upper Tr H.
ity, represents the emigration to that part Of
the country far exceeding anything he had
imagined. This immense influx Of immigrants
had produced the natural consequence of giving
an unu 'ual demand for provisions, and enhanc-
ing the value OF land to an extent that is almost
unprecedented Lands which were offered last
year for three or four dollars per acre, can now
be sold readily for eight or ten and such as
could be had ten months ago for fifty cents per
acre, can now be sold for two dollars in cash"
The Brazos plantations have been gathering
a bale OF cotton per acre, at the first picking,
but since the heavy rains, the yield is much less.
The sugar crop Isl this year, very fine. Cotton
and sugar will be much earlier to market than
usual.
The city of Galveston, the island city, the
chief commercial mart of the State, has popu-
lation OF about 600 souls. Sh, commands, at
present, tWo-thrds of the Gulf trade. Besides
regular lines of steam packets to New Orleans,
she has line of superior sailing packets to New
York and Boston, and it is in contem pIation to
add a line of steamers to New York and Mobile.
Ten emigrant ships are daily expected here, on
their way from Europe, with passengers and
freight for Texas.
The domestic trade of Galveston, chiefly up
the Trinity and Brazos rivers, for the past wear,
may be safely set down between two and three
millions of dollars In the course of another
year or two, she will ship from this port eighty
or hundred thousand bales of cotton, equal to
Natchez and Vicksburg in their palmiest DAYS,
Galveston is pretty we'll built for new town,
though it has nothing to boast of in the way of
archlt' cture, unless it be the Cathedral, which
might be regarded as an ornament in any city.
The log cabin era in Texas has nearly passed
by, and people in the settlements and Villages
have fairly entered upon style of architecture
which may we'll be t, rmed the barn style"
The past summer has been the hottest, dryest
and healthi.st ever known. With the exception
of two or three showers of rain, provdentally
sent, 1t would seem, to keep the cisterns well
filled, and supply the inhabitants with water, so
Indispensable to health and comfort, we may say
in the language of Scripture, that the heavens
have been brass, the earth iron, and the rain of
our land powder and dust" Notwithstanding
the therm ometer has ranged from 80 to 90 and
upwards, all the season, and indicated the same
degree OF tempera' ure nearly at the same hours
of the day and night, for weeks and months to-
gether, We have continually been refreshed by
cool, southerly and westerly breezes from the
Gulf, and blessed with degree of health une-
qualledSwe dare assert, BY no other town or city
of its size in the United States For five months
past or more, the sun and moon have never been
shorn of their brightness, and such nights as
have beamed upon US continually during the
summer, have no where else been realized this
side of the Grecian Isles