The Hickman courier., 1877-06-29
TEXAS and ITS oATrLE.
What the Commissioner Sent ont 6y a
Leading Scotch Journal says 4b0Wt
Them

am now in Texas, and must do JUS
ticeto it. Few people in Great Britain,
when they talk or read of Texas, have an
idea that they are talking and reading OF
a country about five times the size of
England, or of an area of over one hun
dred and seventy-fve millions of acres
to be exact, 175, ,587, $40 This " wonder
full country" forms the southwestern
point of tine United States, lies between
twenty degrees and thirty-six degrees
northern latitude, and returns the roll of
the genial gulf of Mexico for about 400
miles From east to west it measures 500
miles, from north to south 700. "A
very large extent is rolling" prairie
and woodland lying as an elevation of
rtnaer a thpuszsll %-e1 sss1@sstlka ttsSzf Is
an immense area of mountain ranges and
high table-land varying from 1000 to
5000 feet above sea level, the highest
point being 1886 feet. Is climate has
been the subject Of much diversity of
statement. Some say they would not
change it for any other climate in the
world others hold that it is unfit for
the habitation of white men. AS far as
/ can learn, the "mean of these two
extremes would come pretty near the
truth. In a country lying between the
frozen and tropical regions it is certain
that the climate will be characterized
by rapid changes of heat and cold, and
probably these rapid changes are the
worst features of the climate of Texas, as
well as the northern states of the Union.
The middle states have more equability.
Both in summer and winter it is warm
in Texas, except when a norther
sweeps down upon it (the Texans have
little love fer anything hailing from the
north), and then the atmosphere is chilly
as long as the north wind lasts. Some
times, in the space of five or six hours,
the thermometer will fall from 81 or $50
when g norther springs up suddenly.
In this beautiful little town of about
thirty thousand inhabitants, and all
along the coast, the heat is tempered by
a constant breeze from the gulf, and the
thermometer seldom exceeds 81 de-
grees in the shade; but in the in
terror the heat is often very intense
much too intense for white men to labor
in the height of the day. Show falls OCT
casionally, but never lies more than
few hours, while winter often passes with
out the pools ever being coated with
ice. Vegetation begins very early, and
several varieties of fruit and other gar
den produce have been in use for a couple
of weeks. On the whole, it must be adj
mitted that the climate of Texas in
spring and summer is not conducive to
health, rs may be imagined from the
fact, that with the view of checking the
spread of fever and such contagious dis
sases. Texan eattle-sre prohibited from
crossing the Red river into the northern
states during these seasons.
The population of Texas in 1860 was
not much over 100000, in 1870 it was a
little under 500, 900 and since then the
increase must have been very great.
Long after several of the eastern states !
were settled by Europeans the wild !
ranges that now form Texas were the |
Joint domain of numerous races of In /
dians, the wild horse, the buffalo and all |
kinds of prairie game. A colony of Span.
iards planted in Mexico three and half |
centuries ago by Cortez gradually |
spread eastward, embracing Texas shortly /
The first European settle
ment, however, (by body of English
men, composed mostly of men who had
been already located in the eastern
states for some years), dates back only /
about one hundred and fifty years, the
chosen spot having been San Antonio,
1ne of the richest parts of the state.
Other white men gradually followed,
and soon wild wars arose with the Mexi-
cans for possession, which ended in the
state being wrested from the latterin
1886, the ferty-frst anniversary of the
surrender OF the last Mexican leader
having been celebrated with great re-
oicing in Houston the other week
Texas was annexed to the United States
IN 1845, and is by far the largest state in
the Union.
Early in its existence Texas found nu
nerous writers ready to bring its claims
before the immigrant, and,
Of course, most of these authors 1ike the
of every other state in
went the length of declaring
that their subject of notice possessed
70 more advantages and offered greater
10 the industrious settler
than any other state in the Union"
Among the facts adduced by one writer
to prove this were these two-(D "That
a cow can be raised in Texas at less cost
than chicken in any other place in the
United States; and (2) that more chill
dren are born in Texas in proportion to
the population than elsewhere, and more
in proportion raised to adolescence !"
But, after all, it would seem that the
rich resources of Texas are only now be-
coming properly known, thanks to the
energies OI llOSC
private individuals who have procured |
possession of large portions of its land,
and advertised it or sale on favorable
terms. Probably "mean" may have to
be struck in this also.
The total area under the various kinds |
of farm crops-Indian corn, wheat, rye,
oats, barley, potatoes and hay-in 1873
was about 100000 acres; the area un-
Ger Indian corn being about 100000;
under wheat, 10000, and hay, 10000 |
acres. Indian corn yields an average OF
40 bushels per acre, which, according to
the market rates Of 1875, were worth
e3 4s; wheat averaged Is bushels, worth
"a IS; rye, IS bushels, worth 93 los;
oats, 80 bushels, worth e4 12s; barley,
30 bushels, worth e5 Us; potatoes, 100
bushels, worth e24 SIS, and hay, about
one ton, werth e3.
On the 1st of January, 1876, the num-
ber of COWS in the state was 500, 100, and |
their estimated value about e3 a head
oxen and other cattle, more than
? ,343, 700, but were worth only e1 lSs. 1.