Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-03-24
FROM TEXAS.

From private letter, written by an intelligent
correspondent at Austin, Texas, and dated March
18th, we copy the following interesting fragment
On the morning of the 10Th, we started for this
capital of the "Lone Star" State. That day we
rode almost the whole length of Illinois, passing
through Bloomington, Springfield &c, and reach
ing st. Louis that night. From the morning of
the 18th to the evening of the l9h, we rode night
and day in Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory and
Texas-meeting our friends at the depot in this
city at the latter time. You see the time from ST.
Louis here is three days a.d two nights, and the
distance is less than it is from Boston to Chicago,
which we make in two nights and one day. The
cars this way and from ST. Louis make but
about seventeen or eighteen miles an hour 1t is
also fact, think, that in going out from Boston
on almost any line Of railroad fifty miles, you pass
greater population than you do the whole way
came from st. Louis here, and much Of the
land on the latter route seems almost Infinitely
better than almost any of the land in Massachu-
sets. Moreover the difference in the looks and
doubtless in the character of the people saw in
the cars and at the depots this side of St. Louis,
and the people you see when travelling in New
England, Is considerable. Palace cars are ne
cessty to health and every sort of comfort by day
as well as by night. But possibly many of the
immigrants look better when they get to their
journeys end, and have washed and cleaned up!
If not, God pity them and their neighbors
Shall tell you something of the climate here
and things, as | have felt and seen them? The
mercury here rarely falls much below 400 above.
When it goes down to 80 1t is terribly cold to the
natives. Indeed, it \ actually cold to them at 40
They are so accustomed to warm weather that
they doubtless suffer more during their coolest
days than Northern people do in their coolest
days. From all can learn of this climate am
very confident that for people, generally, it is not
so healthy as New England whatever advantage
any persons may gain by coming here at certain
seasons Of the year for a time, certain constiu-
tons may derive from permanent residence here.
AT any rate persons over eighteen years old here,
and especially women, look much older at the
same age than they do at the North, and white
folks die here, on the whole, considerably younger
than they do North-or in New England. Still,
just now, the climate is delightful particularly in
contrast with what suppose it is just now in most
parts of New England. During the three weeks
that we have been here the thermometer has indi-
Gated, in the daytime an average of just about zoe
in the deep shade, where it hangs One of the
last days of February it Went up to So and another
day of February it reached So. On the Sth of this
month it went to 76; on the 9th and 10Th, to so;
on the morning Of the llh, early and cloudy
morning, the mercury stood at 10, but in few
hours it went down to 60. Yesterday morning it
was down to 46, and this morning to "A. The ma
tlves shiver
Grass has been green all of the time since we
came. The leaves of the trees that three weeks
ago were beginning to show themselves, have now
grown to nearly their full size. Flowers, wild and
cultivated, are very generally in full boom-some
are past and some are daily coming to perfection.
Many kinds of roses are blessing the eyes and per-
| Tuning the air. Fruit trees have mostly shed
their blossoms, and the natives are fearing the
frost will destroy all the fruit it frequently does
here Frost and droug ht are very dangerous here,
rendering very uncertain almost all things that
depend on continuous warm weather and frequent
rams Tor maturing. On the whole, it seems to me
this climate is reliable for almost nothing except
| its unreliableness 1t is certainly delightful at
present-actualy charming-but / should not dare
quite fall in love with it, for fear that after sum
| merlng and wintering in it ! should change nv
mind. In fact, it would take very strong argu-
| ment to induce me TO try to spend the coming
| summer here, for some days already, as you may
well suppose, have seemed considerably oppres-
sye-those are the cloudy, muggy days. Bright
days, with the little breeze have always thus far
| bad on clear days. though the mercury be al So
are not and have not been at all oppressive.
There is good deal of lynch law in this State
Many persons have been killed by it since we
| came. And murders are not uncommon in this
city, of or among negroes and strangers people
regarded OF no special account. There have been
three or four shooting and killing affairs in this
city of 1000 people within week
guessed right about Blaine in Illinois, before
he or We knew the effects Of his opposition to the
| universal Amnesty bill and Texas papers of the
worst sort now say Blaine's prospects Of the nom
nation for President are daily mproving-and
then they "pitch in