Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1872-04-20

HNHHH
lWhllc .llinV attention ~ the
increasing Wloccd correspondence
from Somhsfu l'cMp a. ho lon1d
oh oar fret page, oulsid $50 Luyo
II e. pIcossyc ulsu VI presenting an
oGpinM hIt,r from tho Northern
part NJ Che Lame Star State" from
The pen ~ cury y Lc,son, E-q,
late ii Fast Gcrruuntown Ind and
we'll known throughout this county
Il wao not probably intended Tor
Publication but we ihlnk he will
pardon uS IA what We heel sure viii
give pleasure 10 many Of his old
lricuds Of this tunly He resides,
us will be sccn, in Dallas county
En-
March 18th, 1872,
DEAR lRlENN:--
Topr ftyor III Thc I9rh Of Feb,
has come duly 10 hand. am very
gad to hear from old friends, and
will endravor to answer some of
your enquiries. What say | will
do with candor have travelled
from the Gull north TO the north
par, Of Dallas county, and from the
east us lar west as Fort Worth. !
started west from Shreveport, Lou
lSiuna, passing Through Harrison
county, Marshall, the county seat
Of Harrison. situated on the South.
crn Pacific Railroad, about the size
OF Ccnlervile, is n beautiful place,
and is quite Il business place Mar
Shall, upshur, ard Wood, arc all
tlmbcrod counties, many large pine
forests, and others Of oak, elm, ash
Sc in fact all OF Eastern Texas is
tt heavy llmbcrod country, abound
ing in yrinrrics. The part | passed
through is about rs broken rs th,
toughest part OF Wayne county,
Ind, many hills and holIows, but,
not much that cannot be tiled.
The soil is II rcddis lora bright
ycllowish color. saw soil in Ken.
lucky about the same color. This
soil is not the best, but produces
very well, and they have many fine
orchards and farms; not very good
water. After crossing the Sabine,
in Vanzandt county, the face Of .hc
country makes II marked change;
we leave the tmbcrcd country and
enter the prairie. The soil also
makes II great change along the
skirts Of timber 1t is black, sandy,
and very productive; there are
some places where the white rock
conn Us near the top Of the ground;
in chplaccs the soil is poor, but
this quality Of land is not very ex-
tcnsivo and is easily detected This
white rock is peculiar kind Of
lime stone about as hard us soap.
stone. Tho most ofthc prairie land
of all Northern Texas is II very pc
culiar black loan, called here Black
Wax, or Hog Walow land. The
entire face of the country for miles
will be covered with small linden.
talions, just rs if it had been done
by hogs, chcckcred in every mag
Unable shape, averaging from ten
~ fifteen feet across and touching
each other, but occasionally they
will start off in straight lines on the
slope Of IL hill and run for II long
W US rs though they were done By
IN adept plowlhan, and thrown into
lands about fifteen feet wide. Ira
dition says that II long time ago
there was Il drouth of ten years and
thc earth opened in great cracks or
crcviccs, and when the rain did
come the ground settled in those
ercviccs and'nado the hog wall rvs
After tris land is broken it is rs
sticky ns tar, and will clog up II
wagon wheel as bad rs shocmakor's
WAX but il III right condition is
pleasant to cultivate. THIS black
wax land seems to be made of de-
composed shells. and is of great
depth, often twenty tcct-a Mix
turc of shells and sticky loan
think this to be the richest soil
ever saw i'll my liic.
After travelling west to the cast side
Of Tarrant county, we come to what
is called tho Cross Timbcrs. Here
is another great change in the soil,
+ ,yn,,ll III , r., b.,n o,,r all f,,;o,,l
Isaac Kinlcy here u while TO look
ut the rocks). Tho wax land en-
tircly ceases and the soil is sandy
pig or pup, just as it plcases. yon
may dig in one place and the soil
will be black sand, and in a squirrels
Jump it will be yellow sand, and 80
on This soil is underlayed with
yellow clay. averaging from one to
four feet below the soil. 1t is next
TO the black wax in produclivcness,
probably better fer sore things. |
These cross. timbers are from ten to |
fifteen miles wide, and reach across
the State from Red River TO the
Gulf. bearing a little west of south.
Ater passing through these tim
hcrs the country is pretty much
the same us f'have been describing.
AS for good land, there is more of
it in Texas in proportion to the
poor land than is to be found in
any country | ever saw. The tim
Der after you strike the prairie is
along the streams mostly, and is
mostly oak, and is abundant for
fencing SO is the cross-timbcrs.
Our nice building lumber comes
from the pineries, yet there is pIcn-
~ of lumber sawed on the Trinity,
tut, it is mostly cotton wood, oak
and ash: it is not very good for
building houses but abundant for
ethcr purposes. There are places
iH yexas where it is hard 10 get
plenty of good water; there is so
much mineral substances in the
ground that in digging we frequent
v get water hat is not good in
many localities, but whore | am we
nave plenty of good water; but