Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-10-19
corregpoadenee Delavere eaze..e.
MARCELIlyA, KARNEs Co., TEX,
Sept. 1st, 1896.


Journals, of issue a few weeks back, [
notice an extract from a Northern
journal, headed " Water Power of
Western Texas. IN which some Ofthe
most important points possessing wa
rer power advantages were not mBn-
toned, one of which, for instance, is
the extensive waterfalls of this place,
which consists of two abrupt falls of
seven aud nine feet respectively, and
one of ten feet of gradual descent In
one hundred yards, with two lesser
! ones intervening, making an aggregate
/ of thirty-three feet in two and half
miles stretch of the whole volume of
/ this river, San Antonio. It is strange
/ indeed, that so stupendous a natural
/ advantage In water power as lies at
| this place has so long escaped the
| searching eye of enterprise and capital
and the indefatigable progress of art,
/ industry rnd science. Ell passO de
| Ia Conquista," or the "COnquista Rap
| ids, as It is better known on this riE-
er, one hundred yards in length over
a solid and smooth rock bottom, en-
brace fall of ten feet of the whole
volume of the San Antonio river, be-
low which a deep channel large aud
| deep enough to float a seventy-fOur
gun ship, winds its way down some
SIX hundred yards where its wild aud
turbulent current goes dashiug aud
fOamiDg over an abrupt fall of more
than seventy feet, and falls over a per-
pendicular natural stone dam of cres-
cent or semi-circular form, the circle
running up stream. At this place an
artificial dam of four or FIVE feet has
been erected above OF on TOP of the
natural dam for mill purposes, making
10 all about eleven feet perpendicular
head Of power
The current then winds It's way on
in a northeastern course over two
other minor falls about one mile and a
quarter until it again goes roaring and
tumbling over another fall of nine
feet-over another dam of natures ev~
erlasting formation. These falls
headed above by beautiful islands,
covered with luxuriant grass, flowers
and forest trees of sycamore, cotton
wood and cypress trees. present a pic
turesqe richness and beatty of land
scape scenery, that is seldom surpassed
by the handiwOrk of nature,
The surrounding country is in per-
feet keeping with the lavish beauty
of the river scenes and possesses asOil !
unsurpassed In fertility by any country 4
under the sun. The climate ic all that I
the most fastidiOus could suggest sal |
ubriOus and healthy beyond compari- |
son with any other portion of the State 1
or in fact any other portion of the |
South. Here a practising physician
would starve to death who relied upon
his profession alone for support. In
the summer the heat of the sun is
cOUnteracted by an incipient current of
sea breeze coming up from the Gulf,
which renders the suns rays and the
atmosphere far less oppressive than [
have experienced it in Kentucky and
Tennessee, while the nights are de-
Iightfully cool, invigOrating and re-
freshing a single blanket being near
Iy always agreeable in bed, while thoUs-
ands of our western people live In
picket houses" or cabins, with no
chinking or any thing else N the inter-
Vening cracks to exclude the free pas
sage of air through the whole house,
during the winter.
This in the heart of the wood re-
giOns of Texas aud within easy dis
tance of the best cotton growing
lands in the State-being only about
one hundred miles from the great Bra
zOr's cotton lands with all the cotton
regions of the GaudelUpe and COlOTa.
do bottoms, intermediate while cotton
plantations lie below toward the
Gulf Vast herds of horses, cattle,
hogs, goats and sheep, spring almost
spontaneously in countless thousands
from its broad and luxurant plains.
At this point and surrounding the falls
within a radius of about four hun
dred yards to lie vast Quarries of
freestone unsurpassed In any other
country on the globe and capable Of
being worked with facility and ease
[ have never known elsewhere. Thous-
ands of these stones, indeed fifty per
cent of them need no touch of the
hammer to fit them for the wall after
being taken from their beds and in suf-
icient quantity to build a second New
York City. There are also qUarries Of
grindstone of every grade from the
coarse grain cutter to the polishing
stone, with Quarries Of milestone of
remarkable texture and shape, many
of the them coming out of the quar-
ries handsome enough for setting In
wood without dressing. At the build (
ing quarries can be seen stones need
ing nothing but to turn them up with
crow-bars, from one foot broad and t50O
inches thick to ten feet In length and
breath and from four to eighteen inches
in thickness, with a smooth surface
fat enough for a house floor and as
square and accurate apparently to the
eye as the hammer could make them.
large qUarries of limestone abound
nd intinttum. On burning a kiln of
this stone and after being burned il
Obstinately refuses to slack with water
and is devoid of heat on the applica-
ton Of water as is usual ''in the States
aud from the moment the water touches
it,then begins to turn to stone and
becomes as hard as adamant and re-
mains so forever with a blueish, gray
color. It is utterly Improbable to
slack it with water, but have the stOnal
burnt in the kiln and by some process
of the atmosphere, it will in few
weeks become a sea of whiteness
and as light as hydraulic lime, and
''sets" under water and becomes as
hard as stone, requiring a little more
time to set" than Water-lime. The
limestone possesses large proportion ,
of silico. The sand is suburb and
coast bed of mineral coal stretch {
ing as is most generally supposed from {
Rio Grande across the country to the {
valley, out crops between the two up
per falls from which can be seen large
bOuldeFs of coal four feet IN length
washed out by high water aud lodged
a. ong the river bank aud on the islands.
Inc greatest abundance OF GlmDer TOT
fencing aud other purposes of the ,
durable and valuable qualities exists
on the back lands and surrounding |
creeks But this communication is / |
fear becoming rather lengthy and
will close by saying that this is no fan
cy sketch but true picture.
Yours &c,
@. III. SKILEs.
A PICTURE OF AUTUMN" As we !
we're WhiFled rapidly along, | noticed