The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-09-25
Eastern, Central, and Western Texas.

Texas may be, for convenience sake,
divided into eastern, central, and west
ern sections. The first, or timbered
portion, has the Trinity River as west
ern boundary. This region exceeds the
area of the State of New York. Central
Texas may be defined as including all OF
the vast prairie lands from the Trinity to
the Colorado, leaving beyond a territory
larger than both of the former, and eX-
ceeding the size of any four of our or
binary States, as the western portion.
The first named is the oldest in point OF
AnglO-SaXOn civilization. The prairie
loan lands are in condition of evOlu-
ton or progression, and, being the most
fecund, the great centers of population
which multiplied generations will pro-
duce will be located within the bOun-
daries given. Much of the far western
land is arid and uncultivable. The
Staked Plains are the most notable eX-
ample. Western Texas will be invaded
in time by the miner; for its mineral
wealth, as already revealed, is consider
able. The tide of immigration to this
section viii doubtless reverse the general
order of things, and move eastward
through Arizona. Railway communica-
ton from the Pacific will materially con-
tribute to this result. At present the eX-
treme point of eastern encrOachment is
the city of San Antonio, which is only a
city of the AnglO-SaXon by virtue of
conquest, and marks the limit of a dar-
ing, brilliant, and intellectual civiliza-
ton, whose impulse was eastward, and
which built a garden in the plain about
the time that the French took root in In
diana, and the good people of New Eng
IoY siv I a
the Salem witchcraft delusion. 1t is
reasonable to assume that history may
repeat itself in this instance.
The wooded country of Eastern Tex
as yields a rich variety of useful woods
yellow pine, cypress, red and white
oaks, live-oak, hickory, pecan, and ce-
dar predOminating. The Trinity. Sa-
bine, Neches, Angelina, San Jacinto,
and other rivers afford rafting facilities
and water-pOwer at times, although wa
ter is an uncertain commodity in the
State, and nearly all mills have steam
engines. A new road will soon bisect
the lumber districts, springing from
Denison, near the Red River, and trav-
ersing the State to Sabine Pass, which
is 60 miles east of Galveston, and al
ready an important numbering point.
The transcOntinental division of the
Texas and Pacific, as well as Its main
line from Marshall westward, affords an
outlet for the northern section, while the
International and Great Northern road
passes through its western tier of coun-
ties, and a road toward New Orleans
connects Orange on the Sabine, with
Houston. Before the construction of
the railroads one of the greatest difficult
ties which the prairie settler had to en-
counter was the scarcity and extreme
cost of lumber. 1t sold as high as $50
and so per thousand feet, and was often
hauled hundreds of miles by OK teams.
The Texan lumberman finds his market
toward each of the cardinal points of the
compass. The cleared lands in the val
leys yield a good quantity of cotton, to
the extent of bale of 500 pounds to the
acre. Some rice is grown upon the low
lands bordering on the Gulf, as well as
the staple known as Sea Island cotton
-FrGtk II. Taylor, IN HaTper'S for Oc-
tOber.