The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-16
A LETTER FROM TEXAS.
A Former South Carolinian Reviews an
Article Published In the 'Intelligencer''
August 2Sth.

A Former South Carolinian Reviews an
Article Published In the "Intelligencer''
August 2Sth.
WEBBERvILLE, Texas, Sept. 20.
Editor Anderson InteRigenctr::
In your issue of August 2sth, under
the heading, ga Truthful Man Tells the
Truth About Texas" noticed a letter
from gentleman (f) prospecting in this
State to niece of Prof DuPree, of Stark
Vile, Miss, wherein occurs such an utter
disrcqard for the terms "Truth" and
"Truthful," that I am not little sur
prised to see it so readily sanctioned by
paper, on which have long depended
for true and unbiased statements. Be-
lieving you to be as generous as you have
hitherto been right, I desire to refute the
false statement of that libelous letter, and
hope you will give it space in your val
liable paper. The dominant incentive
which prompts the making of this reply
is, that am native Of South Carolina,
though having lived in Texas for the past
twelve years, and have friends-readers
of your paper-whose minds wish to re-
leve of tho error into which this gentle
mans letter has thrown them, by point
ing ont his inconsistencies and bringing
plain facts to light, witch I can and will
substantiate by good and responsible
men if necessary.
Our contemporary opens his list of OBJ
jections to Texas by complaining of
.stimes," scarcity of writing material
and opportunity of mailing letters" &c.
Now the times of which he speaks is as
abundant here as anywhere on the face of
the globe; but the fact is we improve our
time in useful employment, and not by
inyenting q batch of falsehoods to delude
our brothers of the old States. AS for
writing material and mailing letter, it
Is Just as easy here as elsewhere, for the
same law governs the post Office here as
in the old States, and we have as many
as we desire or need, there being one in
every town and most settlements of the
State, Writing material may be OBJ
tanned here, for booksellers flourish and
street peddlers grow INT from the enor-
nous sales of paper, &c.
But he goes on, ''I don't know what to
say about Texas" Here he speaks the
truth, though unintentionally. He con-
tinues, GET have been in the State about
one month, and during that time have
travelled over oil the northern, central
and western part" This includes an
area of 15s, ,214 square miles, and to have
travelled over this space in 80 days, he
must have made daily journey Of 5,10S
miles, or have moved at the rate of212
miles per hour-the fastest time on re-
cord. It is mystery to me how o man
can travel at that rate and then give an
impartial account of the country passed
over, and at the same time be called a
'str,alyM man." He adds, 'T have as yet
found no modern paradise" This dis
plays want of refinement ana base,
unappreciative mind, for Washington
Irving spoke of the scenery Of Texas as
the most beautiful he had ever beheld.
William Cullen Bryant spoke Of our
prairies as s'the unshorned fields, rich
and beautiful, for which the speech of
England has no name." Now these emil
nent mems authority is certainly to be
preferred to one who displays so little
claims to erudition. To him who is
lover Of nature, this is indeed dream
land, and to rise when ell these hills and
mountains and plains are flushed with
the splendors of the earliest dawn; to
traverse, even in midwinter, deep green
cotton fields, while scarlet flowers clasp
the gliding feet; to watch the purple
wraiths of rain haunting the silvery fair
ness of the particolored hills; to feel the
living light Of the cloudless day beat as
with a million pulses; to go out into the
luster of the night aflame with astral
splendors, until the dark still plains and
deep and darker valleys blaze like
phosphorescent sea; to breathe the won
drous air, soft as the first inpassioned
kisses Of young love, and rich as wine
with delicious odors Of world Of flow
ers these are our joys, never tasted in
other climes, and these our advantages
never known save meath the sunny skies
and broad blue vault of Texas.
''The land is rich, cheap and bound
less," says he, and SO far he is the "truth-
full man." but forfeits all claims to the
title in the succeeding sentence: shut
subject to visitations of grasshoppers and
drouth." This is a malicious fabrication
of his own invention, for the grasshop-
pers have never damaged our crops, and
this being the first drouth we have ever
had, and it is by no means confined to
Texas, since the statistics show that it
has been an unusually dry year through
out the whole of the United States our
crops, tits true, have suffered considera-
bly, from the dry weather, but they have
by no means been total failure, in proof
OF which I will cite 3 few instances,
which are by no means exceptions: A
negro, Jim Gilbert, has gathered % bales
of cotton of 500 pounds each, and 500
bushels of corn from his crop this year,
notwithstanding the drouth. Another
case is of a man who once lived in the
town of Anderson, but who has recently
moved to Texas, has made IS bushels of
corn to the acre, it being planted without
breaking, the rows four feet apart and
only six furrows to each row. These six
furrows includes all the work the corn
received. He also planted and worked
the cotton in similar manner, and has
made three-fourths of bale per acre. A
gin in this community has ginned 1850
bales of cotton, the furthest bale being
brought II miles. We use no guano in
making our crops. The majority Of the
people don't know what tits; they would
drum man out Of the country for bring