The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-16
A LETTER FROM TEXAS.
a Former South CaroIinIan Beviews nm
Article Published In the "Intelligencer''
August 23th.
WEDBERvILLE, Texas, Sept. 90.

Editor anderson InteHigeneer:
In your issue of August 2eth, under
tho heading, ga Truthful Man Tells the
Truth About Texas" I noticed letter
from gentleman ~ prospecting in this
State to niece of Prof DuPree, of Stark
ville, Miss. wherein occurs such an utter
disregard for the terms '.Truth" and
Truthful" that am not little sur.
prised to see 1t 70 readily sanctioned by
paper, on which have long depended
for true and unbiased statements. Be-
loving you to be as generous as you have
hitherto been right, desire 70 refute the
false statement Of that libelous letter, and
hope you will give 1t 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 kava fri1nds-readers
of your paper-whcse minds wish to re-
lievo OF the error into which this gontle-
mans letter has thrown thom, by point
Ing ont his Inconsistencies and bringing
plain facts to light, which can and will
substantiate by good and responsible
men If necessary.
Our contemporary opens his list Of OBJ
jections to Texas by complaining Of
"times," ''scarcity of writing material
and opportunity of mailing letters" &c.
Now tho times Of which he speaks is as
abundant here as anywhere on the face of
tho globe; but the fact is we improve our
time i'll useful employment, and not by
invonting batch Of falsehoods to deludo
our brothers Of the old States. AS for
writing material and mailing letter, 1t
LIS just as easy here as elsewhere, for the
same law governs the post Office hore as
In tho old States, and we have as many
as wo desire or need, there being one IL
overy town and most settlements of tine
State. Writing material may be OBJ
tained here, for booksellers flourish and
street peddlers grow rat from the enor-
:aoas sales Of paper, &c.
But he goes on, III don't know what to
say about Texas" Here he speaks tho
truth, though unintentionally. He con-
tinues, 81 have been III the State ..oout
ono month, and during that timo have
travelled over all the northern, central
and western part" This includes nm
area of 15S, ,214 square miles, and to have
travelled over this space in 80 days, he
must have made daily journey of 5,103
miles, or have moved at the rate of 2l2
miles per hour-the fastest time on re-
cord. It is mystery to me how o man
can travel at that rate and then givo an
Impartial account OF the country passed
over. and at the same time be called q
"trmhfM man." He adds, 'sI 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 ''the unshorned fields, rich
and beautiful, for which the speech of
England has no name." Now these emf
nent mons authority Is certainly to be
preferred to one who displays SO little
claims to erudition. no him who Ia
lover Of nature, this is indeed dream
land, and to 1ise when ali these hills and
mountainJ and plains are flushed with
the splendors of the earliest dawn; to
traverse, even in midwinter, deep green
cotton fialds. while scarlet flowers nlasn
the gliding feet; to watch the purple
wraiths of rain haunting tho silvery fair
ness of the particolored hills; to feel the
living light of the cloudless day beat as
with million pulses to go out into the
luster of the night atiame with astral
splenaors, until the dark still plains and
deep and darkor valleys blaze like
phosphorescent sea; to breathe the won
drous air, soft as the first impassioned
kisses of young love, and rich as vino
with delicious odors OF world of flow
ors; these are our Joys, never tasted in
other climes, and these our advantages
never known save meath the sunny skies
snd broad blue vault of Texas.
"The land is rich, cheap and bound
ioss,'' says he, and so far ho is the "truth-
full man." but forfeits ell claims to the
title in the succeeding sentence: "but
subject to visitations of grasshoppers and
drouth." This is malicious fabrication
or his own invention, for the grasshop-
pers have never damaged our crops, and
this being tho first drouth we have ever
had, and 1t is hy no means confined to
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 will cite O few instances,
which are by nc c:eans exceptions: <
negro, Jim Gilbert, has gathered % bales
of cotton of 500 pounds each, and 500
bushels of corn from his crop this year,
notwithstanding tho drouth. Another
case is OF d man who once lived in the
town of Anderson, but who he's recently
moved to Texas, has made 35 bushels of
corn to the acre, it being planted without
hreaking, the rnwa fonr feet ars.s... ..:s..
orly ak burrows to each row. These Yix
furrows includes oil 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 fnrthest bale being
brought II milss. We use no guano In
making our crops. The majority OF the
people don't know what 1t ia; they would
drum man out of the country for bring
ing tho stinlEing Htnff I'm the range ns
their nasal organs, should any one bo 80
rash as to invade the State with q sample
of the 'best.''
Still he goes on "People haul their
vvntar fror1e crealra and ~ ware, ana ,1o,,d,