The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1873-05-08
SAN JACrNrO BAY,

DEAR EAGLE: Our last letter. dated
Galveston. was SO hastily and loosely
written that even now we scarcely re.
member a single word it contained
Ii was written after night, following a
day of excitement and strange scenes,
i'm a strange country. And now, seated
up i'm the pilot-hOuse of fine steamer
which is just gliding into the placid
waters of the bay Of San Jacinto, listen
ing to the strange incidents and remin-
iscences of a romantic life, being adrOit-
~ drawn out by our wife from the
kccn-sightcd but grav-hairod old man
who holds the wheel; with fifty miles
Of the rolling waters of the magnificent
bay of Galveston and its hundreds of
white sails that lic between us and the
busy city whose last shining roofs and
glistcning spires have sunk from our
gaze in the far off blue horizon of dane
ing waves, the hands of whose warm
hearted people we clasped in parting
scarce three hours since; with the de-
serted fields. groves aud once home of
the man who IN his lifetime held the
destinies of this great state in his grasp,
in plain view with thousand little,
green isles Of wood and meadow that
just here dot the bay, and whose quiz
etude is only disturbed by the winds,
ripping waves, or the weird cry of the
many snowy-breastcd sca-gulls that are
following in our wake; and. now, with
the Kind voice of the old pilot as he
points out the battle ground of San ia
cinto, where Gen. Sam Houston his true
men won the victory that took from
Mexico a province and raised it to the
dignity of the Lone Star republic; we
say, with all these surroundings, if
this letter. like the last, reads "a little
Mixed" the EAGLES friends must not
attribute it to the contents of the bot
ties whose corks are now popping so
lively amid the hilarity and confusion
made by our happy party in the cabin
below.
The city Of Galveston is situated on
the eastern end of an island that separ-
a'es the bay from the gulf The island
when settled upon was nothing more
or less than sand bar. Man has made
it paradise. The city is purely
commercial ono, and there is no inter
est there. no industry or avocatiom
which does not hinge directly upon
trade. No farming or manufacturing
interests. in a northern sense. Every
thing upon the island has been taken
there by man. from the brick in the /
walls and pavcmcn,s, which are ship I
ped from Europe as ballast. or the soil
that manures the blade Of grass. to the /
mighty merchantmen that lie idly .
floating at anchor in the offing. The /
island here is about mile wide, and
the business part of the city rests upon
the ba:. while the resident portion
thereof occupies the centre and runs
over 10 the waters of the gulf. A large
of the fine business houses are
Of solid iron and glass. or stone aud
glass fronts. highly architectural. and
'or beauty and solidity vieing with the
palaces Of the greatest cities
lpon our continent. The best streets
ire all made of shells-solid and hiie.
Of course city 60 commercial in its
make up. boasts fine stocks of goods.
Two or three competent judges IN our
,arty declared that New York, Chicago
n St. Louis could not GENE up in mag
Iitnde TO some Of the stocks of goods
O be found in Galveston. OF course
hey have no such things as wells.
prings or cisfers. The people drink
ain water. caught and held in tanks
bove ground. Being purely COM
nercial city. il is Of course very rich.
nd her citizens spend their princely
Incomes ia rivsling each other in flow
e gardens. fast horses. fine turnouts.
nd in giving entertainments: and
ont they 60 il. though. Here near !
: every description of flowers grow.
nd they are cultivated in profusion:
ven their hedges aud wind-breaks are |;
ol"ander. the fragrance ef whose !