The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1868-09-25
LETTER FROM TEXAS.
BoNnAM, Fannin Co., Texas,
....' August Both, 1868,

i've. August Both, 1868.
M. w. c. T0ughan: When left Nc
MINI county last fall, promised you
and others that would give you COR
rect account Of Texas as far rs / might
be able. l have now been here one sea-
son, and l have recently taken tour of
two hundred miles in order to examine
the country, and will give you the re-
suit OF my observation. Some persons
are well pleased with Texas, and over
rate it; others are displeased, and UNI
derrate it. Twill attempt to strike the
golden medium, and neither exaggeratc
nor cXtennate.
Red River county is pretty we'll TIM
.bered and has good land. Near the river
there is good timber and good land all
the way up, though rather sickly, and
plenty of fruit. Lamar county has
large prairics in it, and when standing
in the middle of large prairie, you
can't see any timber, and all the timber
here is scrubby. Fannin county has
black waxy and black sandy land, and
is scarce of running water. Grayson,
Denton and Collin counties have about
the same kind of land and timber,
though think Collin is the best water
ed, and they all have large prairies. The
timber is rcd, black and post oak red,
box, chit and slippery elm; walnut, pc
can, ash, hickory, hackbury, bodark, and
Others that l can't name. Bodark is a
thony, scrubby timber, and splits pref
ty well, and is very durable. There is
a great deal of bodark timber in these
counties. When speak of black, ,cary
land, | mean just what l say. The SAN
dy land is more pleasant to cultivate
than the waXy, but the waxy land stands
q drouth best.
Dallas is the most beautiful county
ever saw good land, pretty good wa
ter, large prairies, though timber is
scarce. Ellis and Hill are more broken
than the other counties, with more wa
ter, but not more timber till you get to
the Cross Timbers. The Cross Timbers
are post oak, black oak, and black jack.
Johnson county has good land, and the
Cross Timbcrs run through it. Waco,
i'll McLcnnan county, is improving ra-
pidly, SO is Dallas. The land Oh the
Brazos is as good Us need be. Bosquc
county is broken, rocky, and no good
timber. The land on Bosque river is
good, though the ridges are rocky, with
scrubby cedar on them. In that section
they build good deal Of rock fence.
and it is more subject to drouth than
this portion Of the State, and the whole
State has much less rain than you have
in Tennessee.
Society here is not as good as in Ten
nessee, though it is improving very
much. In my late tour saw many re-
vivals in progress among the Baptists,
, Methodists and Cumberland Presbyte-
rians. J. saw many fine Churches, but
in some sections schools are unhandy,
us the people are too much scattered.
! Cabbage and beans do not grow very
well here, but lettuce, beets, mustard
Q and onions grow finely. Most of per-
, sons here make their gardens in their
t fields, as they say any place is rich
enough for garden. This is good
country for peaches, and on the sandy
land they raise fine apples.
o a railroad from Galveston to Califor-
G MIA is in contemplation, and when fin
4. ished think this will be the best mo-
: ney-making country III the United States
:. for this reason: We can make more pro-
l. duce in this country on an average than
Is you can, and we only feed the stock that
- we use the balance live on the range.
n 4 man can generally sell one half that
e he raises.
IS ! have seen more dissatisfied people
n here than in any country | ever saw
It Some of them move Off and move bach
e three or four times before they become
: satisfied but it don't cost much to move
as they feed on the grass. This coun
try is more subject to chills and fevel
n than East Tennessee, except that por
/ ton Of McMinn comfy below Gouldy's
u old mills. Mr.. Allen has lived here
+ over twenty years, has thirteen chill
G dren, all alive and healthy, and he says
g that he has never paid fifty dollars in
y doctors bills in the time. Upon the
|, whole, Texas is n good country, and il
any Of you conclude to move here, come
1 by way of Memphis and Helena, Ark
: Your old friend. JAS. Il. BENTON.
Maine.
;, The joy of the lady of 70, who at
. three score and ten years, gave birth to
her first and only child, illustrates the