The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-04-13

From the Huntsville independently
WAKE-ou! Texas,
February, 8, '7l,(

IN lhlck uarknesS-llkc cooling DrccZr
in midsummcr-like a gentle zephyi IN
spring.time--or, like a gentle shower
upon the dry and parclled earth, your
long ana interesting epistle came upon
me this morning, because it was news
from home, and gave me much salts
faction. / read it with y vim, and
forthwith sit down to answer it. II ]
am dull and prosy, you must pardon
me, for business prospects with me do
not warrant an cXtatic flow Of hum0r,
nor u supcrahundance of h~ighfaluten
nonsense, such as l might pen under
other circumstances. Therefore, in the
language Of my friend, Maj. Pratt, my
letter shall ''be short, but brief"
You want to know what / think Of
Texas, ! will tell you; nor will l in
anything eXtenuatc, or set down aueht
in malice. My opinion is that Texas
is a great State--in size. And, to use
language that you may have heard be
fore, | will say that it is one OF the
coolest, and at the same time,
warmcat States in the Union. 1t has
more good people and more bad people
than any other State; 0 rain and
more drouth more cows and less milk
and butter; more atitf black mud and
more poor people; more rivers and
less navigation, than any other State
east of the Rocky Mountains, The
rivers here at one season are large
enough to float q man-of-war, The
next you can cross them dry-shod.
There is n great deal Of sickness in this
country, Judging by the number OF ply
s%icians, and yet people tell me they EN-
joy a super. abundance Of health. Ev-
erything in Texas is paradoxical. The
country is full of pis-ants--big red
oncs--and they sometimes, like the To-
Gusts of Egypt, come up and destroy
almost every green thing. Grass hop,
pe7s sometimes prevail. Horned frogs,
tarantulas and e%entircdes are plentiful,
as well as snakes. Lalge rabbits, with
ears as long as a mule-colt's, may b.
seen daily skipping about over the
prairies. Ok teams take the place OF
steamboats, and railroads here, and i;
is further from one place to another
than any country | ever was in, and
harder to get there: and when you gel
there, it is still further to the mex,
place.
To repeat what l wrote to a friend in
Georgia, l will say that to take the
State of Texas as o whole, it is bully,
judging by the number of calves I see
on the prairies, and the quality of bee
sometimes served at my hotel. Aud,
to describe the people, and make the
description perfectly In lid, and as clean
as mud to eve an ordinary mind,
will say that they are various, promis-
cnons, peculiar and othcr~ Use. And
as all the people here live upon beef,
and rs the cattle.arc raised upon grass.
| may truly say that in Texas all flesh
is gr2ss.
As to the business in your line, |
do not think this is a desirable place.
There sre seventeen doctors here. If
| find 4 location desirable | will write
to you. You might do well in the
country here, somewhere on the Brazns
river, bit in town | think the business
overdone.
Now Doctor, to bc serious. | will
say that Texas is all sorts Of Il country,
and covers a great deal Of ground,
u majority of which runs away out into
the prairies. Grass grows luxuriantly,
but hay is somewhat rare. The river
bottoms are rich, and one to two bales
Of cotton are gathered to the acre; and
cotton is easier to raise here than any.
where else. There is no grass such as
we have in the Statc-onJy weeds in
the bottom. This is an easy country
to make a living in, hut very few get
rich. The only true way to find out
what Texas really is, is to come here
and live some forty or fifty years, and
then you will know very little more
about it than you do now. When it
does rain here it is very vet, and when
it don't it is very dry, on account of
the high winds that blow. The rivers
mostly Il down stream, when they
have water enough TO run at all.
Now, my dear si:, you have my idea
Of Texas. l think it is clearly stated,
and a man Of your acumen will fnd no
difficulty in coming to a conclusion.
Towns here grow very rapidly. On
the Texas Central Railroad, which is
being built, it is no marvel for a town
big as 1uks to spring up in a night.
The buildings ale mostly Of the Shang.
lai breed. with something more of the
'hang than the high. Towns are very
argc, hut none of them are yet illed up.
omitted to state in the proper place
hat spells of weather in this country