Des Arc citizen., 1866-04-21
FoRT HOUSTON,
 NEAR PALESTINE, yu i A | 0hn

My DEAR FRIEND-To-day I received your letter of the 3d inst, and was very glad to hear from you, and hope to sec you in Texas before long, .
 On my return home I determined that 1t would comport most with my self-respect and with what was due to my friends for mo to avoid all participation in public af- fairs, and I choose not to engage in the practice of my professionalism the present at least--and have quietly settled myself down to farming. l found my farm in bad condition, thongh I am now getting it into good state of cultivation, and have im- proved it much since the 1st of January. l havesone white man and seven freedmen at work; have planted some fruit trees and shrubbery, and most of my vegetable garden and Irish potatoes, and bedded out my sweet potatoes, and planted thirty-fvc acres of corn, and have as much more ready to plant; have sowed down twelve or fifteen acres in small grain, and shall plant about thirty-fve acres in cotton. I am orchardist and gardener myself, and when not engaged at this, or in the ncces- sary superintendence of the freedmen, work on the farm constantly with my own hands, and can do as much work with apparently as little fatigue as any ofthcm. I make fence, grub, pile and burn brush, plough, &c., and am as thoroughly bronzed as other laborers.
 You can hardly imagine the sense of re- lief and repose of mind l enjoy in the ab. sence ofthe cares and perplexities of off cial and public life, or the great interest l take and the enjoyment I experience in my retired and quiet life. And if our country was again blessed with constitu- tional government and civil liberty, and my loved chief and a few other dear friends were restored to their liberty and families, I should feel perfectly contentcd and happy.
 The letter which I wrote from Fort Warren to the people of Texas, and which met with much disapproval here, was per haps the most important, as 1t was certain ly the most carefully prepared paper, I ever addressed to my fellow citizens. It announced simply and plainly the results of the war, and its necessary and logical consequences, and advised them to a prompt acquisscence in them as the surest and speediest means of securing their re- turn to condition of civil liberty and self government, the admission of their mem bers into Congress, and the withdrawal from among them of the military and the Frecdmen's Bureau It was written from a thorough knowledge of the facts of their situation, contains no statement of fact but what is true, no deduction but what I think wise, and no argument but what I think sound. It was not accepted and acted on simply because our people had not seen their country ravaged and deso- lated as I had seen others; because it was not occupied and garrisoned with standing armies as other States were, and because they did not accept the fact that they were conquered people. But they are learn ing these facts now, and as they do they appreciate and approve the advice I gave them. And our convention is doing most of the things which was condemned for advising them to do. I stand, as always did, on simple truth and right, and know my judgment will meet ultimate approval. Very truly, your friend,
 JOHN H REAGAN.