New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-06-05
TEXAS.
THE STATE MATERIALLY CONSIDERED.
,,r,pt. Al CORRESPONDENCE OF THR TRIBUNE

Tvas'r have been many times asked during the
,,.ek have been in the State-asled even before
.,s At All qualified to give answer of any vaiue'
xov that have travelled some hundreds OF mheS'
.inlv in the valleys of the Trinity and the braSsoS'
! can speak somewhat more to my own sauslac"oh'
s,u II sboud be considered that have as vel seen
onIv the southeastern quarter of Texas ana onlS
mall proportion of that OF course. Knew ionB
snce that Texas has warm though Variaoie Gu
- and n soil generally. though not uniformly
-, Feyv who read considerably can need to be
"a 40 much Let me endeavor to indicate the
-. On which observation has modified my for
n.r impressions.
~, r.1,s seems to be better timbered than any
nr,irie state with which acquainted.
~ .ot moan that the timber is exceptionally good,
ls,not Eastern Kansas with her Hickory groves
-. .he stately luXurisnt forests that cover the IN
los /" bottomsr) of her rivers is decidedly ahead
,sberin this respect. But the prairies OF Eastern
rovas though often large, are interrupted
.,.,ysrei. diversified. by clumps or groves OF TIM
hs,a,I never saw any other Wherever water mas
NJ makes course, no matter no" sn"i
q, how generally dry, there trees
s,ring ,u and struggle resolutely for eX-
,.teoce. And. since these praires and glades
hsva beep fed down by innumerable cattle. the an
nal prarie-fres if not prevented are so enfeebled
No longer charge upon and drive back the timber as
tbav formerly did 1t is plain that the forests are
s.e,dlv extending their boundaries on every SIDE
ybile every tree cut out of them is replaced by hau
dozen voung ones Judge that the increase OF TIM
'er throughout the region have traversed has been
very great during the last ten years. and that 1t VIII
ontinue for the next twenty III spite Oh 'he raplu
Increase OF population.
As 10 quality. this timber is not what could WISH
A. Oaks of almost every known variety, with two
OF three species of Pine are most abundant; while
Cottonwood White Ash, Pecan, Elm, Gum. &c, gar
land the rivers and bayOus. The Live Oak is quite
common and is a good timber-tree; the l0ng-leat
Pine i of tolerabe quality though not equal to our
White Pine But most of the Oak is brash, as the
,yoodr,ep .av-that is il lacks toughness and elias
4citv Much of it is low and scrubby, but the young
free. growing thicBly. promise to be tall and COM
nar,tively limbess i hope their timber will prove
mon, elastic than that it replaces / would gladly
hear that Hickory, Locust, Larch and other desra-
Die species are extensively planted ere long As yet
more sawed Pine is imported especially for bridge
building than wish was needed.
H. As 10 the Soil have seen few acres that would
not yicid good crops to good civilizations but this is
expected of prairie country. Some of the pine
covered lands. especially the Gulf, seem but
moderately fertile; a part of the upland Oak
openings only little better On the other hand,
the river bottoms especially those of the Brassos
are very fertile as annually overlooked intervales
are apt TO be- Here, however. the foundations are
frequent and Of enormous extent, that Judge the
intervales of the Trinity Brassos, Colorado, &c,
deeper and richer than those of the Connecticut,
Hudson Delaware, Susquehanna or Potomac ever
were or could be- never saw better soil than the
Brassos bottoms.
| was more surprised, however by the re-
markabe fertility of the rolling praires especially
those of Washington County. either side of
Durham. its capital. These have been twenty 10
thirty years planted to corn or cotton never
manfred. and cultivated so shallOwly that every
wave sweeps off thousands of tons of their soil to be
borne into the Gulf by the BrassOs orsquandered upon
It's intervales Yet these praries still sustain and
mature bounteous haTvests; and no wonder, since
their black mold ranges from two to five feet in
depth Mellow, dry, breezy, healthful do not see
how these lands could be made more inviting
The level prairies of good quality, though not
equal in the average to those just spoken of. They
may average foot Of dark mold generally overly
ing clay They are mainly left In state OF nature
and devoted to the rearing of cattle which are sold
at three OF four years old for $40 TO $50 per head to
drovers or packers Tens Of thousands in good con-
dition have been slaughtered for their hides and
tallow-the flesh after yielding all its tallOw, being
fed to swine. This, trust, is ended; it certainly
will he when the first railroad shall have connected
tbs valley of the lower Colorado with that
of the Missouri or the Ohio. As yet. the
State il full of cattle, and will be for
u few years longer; but they must ultimately give
place to tillage. Whenever lands devoid of stump
or stone equal 20 those of the Connecticut valley,
and within four days by rail of New-York shall be
worth g per acre. these praiTies will be gradually
incOsed broken up by the Steam PlOw surface
drained by gigantic machines, and cultivated Tor
Corn Cotton, Wheat some choice Grass, and then
Cattle will gradually disappear, or be reared in some
more civilized fashion. At present, they simply
hold the ground till Cultivation shall be ready TO
rlam IT,
III. Whether il be a recommendation or not, Judge
that has required less effort to live in Texas than
in any other State of the Union. The common saying,
Co. Ii costs no more TO rear COW here than hen at
the North " is literally true. The COW was never
fed never sheltered, no matter how cold or stormy
the weather; and you might have ten thousand head
of cattle ranging the praries and openings without
owning acre of land on earth. Many a man has
thus grown rich without effort and almost without
thought.
Rich but TO little present purpose His home was
rude cabin with little OF no glass in its windows
and nothing but dirt its floors His children grew
up unschooled and rude-mannered. His wife was
7Atteihly deprived OF society," ana rendered unhappy
by memories Of better times and more cOngenial
Sociaton& Man lives as a herdsman mainly on
horseback, in the open air often meeting acquaint
ances or strangers; Woman, being confined to her
small, rough cabin, found therein no sOlace,
fort but in her children. The partnership not
equal one; there similarity In Its conditions
There are proud and happy wives IN Texas as else
where but the ranchers life has not tended to make
them am glad that can see TO the end of it,
And trust that the ranchemen's wives are even