Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1868-05-16
OUR HOUSTON LETTER.


he will learn 10 place little dependence %
rules, Il j. said that the fallinsuf meTouF
ia the barometer indicates storms aud
rising OF the mercury fair weather, u
an average, perhaps, this is lruei and ys
as disagTeeable a northeast rain as ha
occurred since January let was the lsl an
"a Of February, with the baromeler al at
"a to ahaa, while on April lalh the baron
eier went down 10 2hll with a perfeell
clear SKY, still, II the average is observed
il will be- found that the weather as a Who'll
follows the indications Of the barometer
Il has been sometimes observed lhal'lh
nearer the mOons changes come 10 mid
night, the clearer Il will he, and the neare
To noon the more likely will the weather b
foul. As matter Of curiosity, have nv
eraged the weather aud changes Of lhl
I moon since January lsi, aud hhd the moon
/ changes have averaged 81. lou, from noon
There have been 80 fair days AID ,uoloudl
/ aud rainy, By fair days | mean that II
which fair weather or the tendency TO !
I predominaicd. Allowing the above iule Il
be correct, We should have 10 every 90 fail
days iSl days of foul weather, IL will hy
seen that whether the rule Is correct aud I,
be depended on or not, the average Is no
very lar from what might be expected and
if IL Is correct, we may look for n good
deal of rain in May, II anybody pins his
faith to the rule, however, let me tell him
in advance, he will he fooled quite often
Still the average will not vary year in and
year out materially from wha. has been
shown this year.
What an immense weight Of rain falls
II. =. =. l. ll...s T.x
Merriam informs the public, very correctly,
that in the rain of the 9th Of April, the
heaviest ever saw in this or any other
country, over rwo inches fell in about one
hour, aud that the weight was lGS tons to
the acre. The city of Houston occupies
three miles square Of ground accordingly
three-qunricrs of u million of tons of
water fell within the corporation limits.
The storm extended equally heavy for 60
miles each way. and do not know how
much further. But within that space over
one thousand millions of tons Of water fell
upon the carthl All this water iioatcd in
the air before il fell and had TO be gotten
together to make the storm. There is al
most always an equal amount of water
ahoat in the ai- within reach Of any point
where q storm is 10 be established, and IT
requires but few counter currents of diff
fercnttemperaturcs to condense and squeeze
the spongy air upon the earth. When il is
remembered that in every drop of water
there is the motive power of enough cleo
tricity TO lift man out of his boots, it will
be observed that the resources Of Omn!po-
tencc are, when brought within our comprc-
hension, to n slight degree beyond wonder.
Tho agent of the Central Railroad has
gone up to sell the town lots of Calvert.
This is the next station on that road, and
the sale of the lots indicates an early
prospect of an advance of the locomotive
in your direction. Watch for it, Swindells,
it is coming without doubt. understand
the Company have disposed in Houston and
the interior of quite number Of their 40
coin interest. bearing bonds at prices in the
ncighborhood of par for currency. At
these prices the investment is unquestion-
ably good one, and it would be well for
the country if enough could be sold to com.
plete the road at once, think have seen
the advertisement Of the bonds in the
Herald, and this is the reason | mention
the matter.
What lordly set Of rascals we have
somehow got in Texas! Talk about chain
ing the grndstones, why we shall soon
have to fasten the buttons on our coats
with steel wire TO save them 10 say
nothing of the prOmiscuOus murders-gen-
orally called fatal affrays and unfortunate
diff ,ulties-see the low-down stealing that
is everywhere going on! Hardly night
passes without burglary in Houston.
Lately the Express Agent at Hampstead
went off, leaving a certainty behind him
that he had stolen hundreds. Now the
postmaster Of that town is under arrest for
a confessed robbery of the mail, now hav-
ing gone on for consideral lie time. What
makes all this corruption? Is it that our
rulers are so corrupt that theirsubordinates
have no honest example to follow? Is it
that the country is tainted from the break
ing up of society to its foundations? Is it
that the De7i has been let loose to com
mcnce his reign on earth, and has set down
in these satrapies to open his business
Talk about the Augean stables!. why
Noah's food would not more than wash the
fith out of the country. Let us pray for n
return of government to the hands of the
people. Let us pray for an end of the
government called military. We have now
been governed by one military man after
another from Holmes and Hebert to
Buchanan and Reynolds seven years, and
are entitled to change. During all this
time neither freedom, nor safety nor hon
estv has been known in the land During
all this time clever swindlers have for the
most part handled the public property,
feeced the patient people and fattened
upon our distresses. In some cases the
very men who speculated most and were in
the highest feather in the camp Of Kirby
Smith and Hebert and Magruder, still re-
main and are members of the Ring that
continues the old game they played in
Confederate days. Men who made their
hundreds of thousands in blockade running
then, now handle moe United States money
than they ever did Confederate funds.
1t is sickening 10 look back upon all this
long history of usurpation, of fraud, of
yillainy. The burthens placed upon us
since the proclamation of martial law over
the State by Hebert have been in continued
succession, and but that Texas surpasses
every other country in the known world in
its elasticity and its ability to bear bur
III, ms. we should have been crushed TO the
earth long ago. What wrongs were inflicted
under the impressment orders of GAL what
OutraGeS under tne fTeeuiheu Duehu
reign Of Gregory What evils an unbri-
died soldiery have inflicted all over the
STATED Like the old maid who had waited
long in vain for husband, | am ready to
say for a government "Any, Lord, so 1t is
civil" We had better accept almost any
thing we can get than submit longer to
what now prevails. At the moment We are
having military government in the mildest
form we have ever yet had it. But there is
no telling how soon all may be changed
again. Mr.. Johnson's days are numbered.
Let the fanatic Wade take his place, and
unless the Ethiopian changes his skin, We
will have a "gay old he'll (pardon the
expression--it is not profane) all over the
South. Nor will his probable successor,
Grant. at all improve matters. IL they
have the appointment Of our officers, and
tbe making or unmaking Of our laws, good
bye to the last vestige Of libertyl
/ notice a good many Northern Texas
merchants in Houston buying goods and
think thesiocks shey have found TO select
from and the prices they have paid have
been more satisfactory than they antiei-
4 l.. L. rf~-