Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-02
TEXAS.
A Run Through the Northern Portion
of the State-Fine CrOps-The Rail-
roads of Texas-ArrtVal of Col. Tom
scott and PartS-The City of Jeffer-
zou-Teuuesseeans i'm Texas.

roads of Texas-ArrtVaI of Col. Tom
scott and Party-The City Of Jelfer-
son-Tennesseeans in Texas.
Correspondence of the Union and American.
JEFFERSON, TEXAS, June %, 1S72.-
NY last letter to you was from Little
Rock. From that city l came to this, via
Hot Springs and Fulton. Since coming
here have made trip of about five hum
dred miles through Northern and Western
Texas, passing through seventeen counties,
and visiting GAINESVILLE, Paris, Bonham,
Sherman, McKinny, Dallas, Waxahachie,
Corsicana, Athens, Tyler, Gilmer, Mar
SHALL and smaller places, back to this city.
Northern Texas, embracing about twenty
five counties, is the garden part Ofthe State,
and Dallas the future Railroad centre of
that section, in my humble judge
menr. The crops were looking
very well, and the farmers well up
with their work, the fields being clean
and the rains seasonable. l never saw finer
looking wheat than l saw growing in Ellis,
Dallas, Collier, and the Red river tier of
counties. 1t is all harvested before now,
Welding from twenty to forty bushels to- the
acre. Much of it is threshed out before
this time. TIE corn, oats, barley, cotton,
etc, were ali quite as promising as the
wheat, and will doubtless amply reward the
farmers, ssThe wheat region of Texas" as
1t is called, is beautiful prairie country,
with timber along the water course suth-
Gent to do. saw many fine cattle, hogs,
etc. l would like to say much about this
section of Texas, but it would extend my
letter to too great length.
When the great railroad and mineral in
terests of the State shall have been develop
ed, Northern Texas will be regarded as
desirable part of s'God's country" Nor will
it be a great while until this is done.
Already the Central Texas Railway has
reached Dallas, and the work is still pro-
crossing. Soon it wiz be extended to Sher-
man, where it will ultimately connect with
The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway,
now being constructed through Indian Ter
ritory to the Texas line. The Trans-con-
tinental, or Southern Pacific, whose east
ern terminus els nominaly at Marshall,
Texas; but practically at Shreveport, La,
will now be pushed forward with energy, eros
sing the Texas Central at Dallas; thence to
Ell Passo and the Pacific ocean. Tom
Scott, the Railroad King, who began his
career as a ne Isboy, but who is now
| president of only tlCelty-SeUen railroads,
with an aggregate salary Of $lSO,00O per
! annum, is now in this city in the
| interest of this great national en-
terprise. He and his suit, including
John W. Forney, of the Philadelphia Press,
were received here last night about 10
O'Clock, and extended the Inequalities of the
CITY. amid the thunder of artillery and stir
ring strains of martial music. Passing
| through number of the principal streets,
| the procession finally stopped before the
| Central Hotel, where the distinguished
| guests took rooms, and from the verandah
| of which Col. Forney, in brief but appro-
| pirate little speech, returned thanks for his
| hearth Southern aoelcOme. The ball soon
after opened, and then it was "On with the
dance" until about midnight, when stump
tuous supper was served, ice cream, claret
and champaign figuring conspicuously.
Your correspondent wanted to offer one
toast: To the edito- Of "my two
papers, both daily" but modesty forbid.
| Col. Scott is not so tall and portly, but his
face reminds me very much Of DR.. A. l.. z.
Green, of your city, and is, doubtless, the
| most wide-awake railroad man in America.
Jefferson has railroad on the brain now,
two being already projected; one connect
ing it with Sherman, and the other, the In
ternational, to connect 1t with Hearn, or
| the Central Texas halfway, anu oIneI
points in Southwestern Texas and Mexico
Much of this road is already constructed
and trains running. When these two road:
are built, Jefferson will move on to higher
achievements. Her prospects of becoming
an important manufacturing city, especially
in iron, are fattering. Already, in hel
: suburbs, steam engines, cooking stoves, an(
various other castings, are manufactured
with success. jefferson has a population o
about 1900 inhabitants, and new buildings
are still going up, among them some
six or eight brick business houses
She has six churches and as many schools
her streets are lighted with gas; she has two
daily and four weekly papers; she has lint
of steamboats, plying between Jefferson anC
New Orleans, and between Jefferson anC
St. Louis and intermediate points; she ha'
an extensive trade in cotton, dry-goods an(
groceries witha large part of Eastern ant
Northern Texas and Southwestern Arkan
sas. Her people are chiefly from State
east of the river, with an sdmixture OF 9th
er nationaities. Until recently the city
government has been controlled by th'
Radical party, but now the Democracy haV
the ascendancy, Judge L. 7. Gray, former
ly of Tennessee, being Mayor, By the way