The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-11
Texas Letter.
Texas, March, 18th, ~.

time ago, l am making the atteMpt 20
raise crop this year, but l do not
feel any great degree of confidence in
the matter at present. There are
thousands of grasshoppers in this Sec
ton now and the ten acres of corn l
have planted rather suspect they will
eat up entirely. They have not dam
aged wheat yet to any great extent, and
if the rascals do eat US out this year
I will 90 north again and give Texas a
wide birth in future. I propose to
plant fifteen acres of cotton if the hop
pers leave this part of the country soon.
My health is good and 1 have moth
ing to complain of in particular except,
perhaps, that our diet o: hog and hon.
ing might be varied little occasionally
without damaging US in the least. I
have almost forgotten how good light
bread tastes, although would under
take to get used to it again if 1 had an
opportunity and not make any wry
faces about it either.
But we really do not lack for variety
here, our bill of fare would read like
this: For break fast, biscuit and hog;
dinner, corn bread and hog; supper,
hog and corn bread. So you see that
if we don't banker after the pork, we
can help ourselves to the corn bread.
l dare say you remember the bill of fare
at the Hon. J. L. Peeksniff' s, in Color.
ado co. Well it does not differ mater
tally from what we We're treated to
there.
This country is very good one, I
like matters and things better than 1
did in colorado county, but there is a
great CHARGE for improvement here.
There IS about dozen of us here and
in this vicinity that INDUCED in a jol-
li6cation when the news finally came
that Hayes was elected. I am safe in
saying though, in chs connection, that
this great State Of ours did not contrib
ute much towards the final result. But
you know what our politics are without
my telling you. I say our politics for,
of course, I am to all intents and pur
poses Texan and must carry at least
a moderate stock of both politics and
religion.
The latter article I may add is of a
coarse variety, but as you know our
creed l won't 90 into details. If you
happen to know any parties who wish
to emigrate this spring just inform
them that this is, perhaps, the greatest
country on record (or would be if it
was fenced) and that we have bright
skies and balmy breezes, cheap lauds
and green treeses, and all that sort of
thing. You can also say to them that
this is most emphasically a poor mans
country. You can say shat conscicn-
tiously for know you saw some thous-
ands Of that stripe while you were here,
that were too outraseously poor to ever
get out of this, no matter how badly
they may want to get out.
In short this country will bear any
amount of praise. I am positive about
this matter, for w. G. Kingsbury and
others have demonstrated the fact by
spreading It on thick, and it is so much
easier for you Yankees to believe it
than it is to look for proof, and I may
add cheaper. For trip from almost
any point up into Gods country to Tex
as is rather an expensive affair, owing
I suppose to the great distance between
the two places. By this I would not
be understood that we have not a hope
Of ultimately getting to heaven. Not
at all. But candor compels me to state
that we are considerably nearer the 9TH
er place and it is among the possibilities
that some of US may make mistake
and get there.
Well, really, I don't know as there
will be vast amount of difference in
the manners and customs of the people
after all. As l said before, you can
recommend this country, by all means.
In doing so, however, it would be as
well to skip over some Of the rough
places. Your Yankee will come any
how and then he will "know how it is
himself" and after he once gets here he
is safe to stay for various reasons. In
praising this country it is good idea
to adopt the late l,mented A. Ward 8