Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1876-09-09
LETTER FROM TEXAS.
WACO, Texas,
August 18th. 1876.


tern counties of Texas. l made the
trip on horseback, and was in the sad
die seventeen days, having laid by but
one day, and during the time occurred
the hottest weather ever known in lex
as. | went through CoryelI, Lampas-
sas and Burnett counties, and entered
Llano at the northeast corner, near San
Saba, and a point where Fall Greek
empties in the Colorado river, having
fall of one hundred and twenty feet, the
beauty and grandeur or which will at
tempt to describe in another part OF
this letter McLennan County is the
best, in all respects, passed through,
being better settled and having more
good land. Although a central county,
and having all the advantages necessary
for an agricultural people, there are
thousands of acres of the best lands
unoccupied, which can be had from
three dollars upwards, according to
quality.
From this I entered Coryell, the cas-
tern part of which is similar to McLen-
nan, and here | noticed some Of the fin
est farming communities | have yet
seen, and the most prolific growth OF
corn | ever saw, much Of which will
produce from seyenty-fye to one hun
! drcd bushels Of corn to the acre.
| Through the western part OF the county
there are large bodies Of Post oaks and
! other timber, and is broken up by noun
tains and valleys. The important
streams are the Leon, CorYell aud Cow
House, all large and crystal streams.
After passing the first range Of noun
tains we came into the Cow House val
( ley, a plain some six or eight miles
wide, of rich, black soil, covered with
| luXuriant growth of grass, mixture OF
! the blue sedge and curley muSqult, the
/ latter being regarded rs the most nulri-
tious of all the varieties Of Texas grass
es. The mountains are not very high,
nor rocky, and are covered with bed
/ of grass, and moderate growth OF tim
/ Der, making them particularly fine for
grazing stock, rs the forest gives shel-
! ter, and a stream OF water generally
| passes along on either side. The gaps
| through these mountains are low and
easy to pass, very different from many
OF those in the old Blue Ridge Of Viz
ginia, OF which many Of us were very
( familiar
We campcd over night at Lampassas
Springs, the watering place OF Texas,
/ short description Of which gave you
/ in nv letter from LIano. Llano Coun-
/ tv is entirely covered with timber, and
much OF it reminded me of that portion
of Western Virginia, where StonewalL
Jackson carried us after Millroy, only
the mountains are not so PERCEPTIONS,
vet there are knobs as high as | have
ever seen in Virginia, aud much OF the
mountain scenery, especially that bor-
dering on the Colorado river, is finer
than any ever saw in Virginia, not cX-
ceptiug Harper's Ferry, and Cheat
Mountain, with their attending rivers
and gorges.
When these Texas mountains and
passes are trayersed by people of im-
aginatiye minds, those who grow eXtat-
ic over deep gorges, and projecting
rocks, pointing heavenward overgrown
with the ivy and fern; adorned with ma
lures vases, stocked with the violet and
iessamine, and other odorous shrubs OF
crimson, blue and gold, the verdant
walls fenced up by the thickest shade
of the laurel and myrtle; a sequestered
: bower, and more sacred, nor Pan or
| Sylvanus never slept, nor Nymph nor
! Fauuus haunted, then they will be call
/ ed into notice, but to the trontlcrsnan,
/ and the "cow boy there is no beauty
nor use in them bat 10 chase the deer,
the bear and the wolf in the latter, and
slake the thirst of their cattle in the
babbling brooks OF the former.
! only wish your correspondent from
Scrabble" could have such a field TO
exercise his descriptive powers in, for
! it is burning shame for such writer
to be hemmcd about by "Scrabble,
which is well known in all that country,
''is hard road 10 fraUd" Excuse the
"variation, if you please The. grass
of this county Ulano) is principally the
curley musqnit, which does not grow
over six or eight inches high, but stock
keep tat on it all the year round, and
now the cattle are as tat as if fed on
corn, even the milk COWS are fat enough
for beef. There are thousands Of hogs
rnnning at large, living and fattenins
off the native grasses and the abund-
ance of mast There is considerable IN
tcrest manifested there in the minerals,
and projecting parties are securing the
whole county, and nearly all the lands
in the county have been taken up.
Some of the parties are getting on from
New York expensive machinery for
smelling the ore.
| brought away with me various
specimens of menial ore from my land,
many of them being rich with some
kind of metal, which propose to have
tested Among other things found
cultivated farm, with improvements, on
one OF my tracts, and as iue crop of
corn As can be raised anywhere. My
coming took the squatter by surprise,
and in order to make a quick peace with
me, invited my company and self off TO
eat watermelous with him. And there
with boiling outside sun. we regaled
ourselves under the shade OF large pc
can grove, and luXuriated on the cool,
crisp. sugary watermelons, until we
were more than satisfied. After max
ing arrangements with him for the col