San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1880-11-18

house OF Spr1ggs, ana blowing louo
enough to drown all the rty.pianos
in the universe, but that was vetoed
1by Johns kind little wife. igiib la.
fla! they'll know it soon enough.
she said, kissing the baby Z
wouldn't hurt their feelings ~ '-"
They did know it, and . few years
after, when John Clarke . lived M .
big house, they all voted for him to
! 20 to the legislater. So much for
the one;horse shay, !, ,,ec,, ,dl /
San Marcos. General Barleson, etc.
tcS,. yeAs s. Ford ts hs Rsh Rssesr)
The town Of San Marcos lies near
the head Of the San Marcos river, on
the road from Austin to San Anton
lio. eItis about thirty miles from
Austin and about fifty miles from
San Antonio. It has a population Of
about 1900. The assessment rolls
show 'iiproperty to ! the value of
$500, ,O00 II is the county seat of
Hays county. 10 The population Of the
county is about {, 900 and the asses
sor's List accounts for property to the
amount Of $500, 900. The Interna-
tional and Great Northern Railroad
company have recently finished the
San Antonio branch Of their, road TO
San Marcos. It is q brisk little city.
considerable business is transacted
there, and IL is one Of the coming
places of Western Texas. u ii lo9
| The county was named in honor OF
Col. John 9, Hays, the great ranger,
who performed many gallant exploits
| in defending the Texas frontier against
Indian and Mexican incursions. go
San Marcos is the Spanish for St.
Marks. The city has college, .
newspaper, number OF churches,
stores, and other establishments.
The San Marcos river is . ctriosi-
ty. II rises from an immense spring.
The water boils up in number OF
places from the bed Of the spring.
| In other places it gushes out from
tho side Of hill. The visitor is en-
abled to avail himself Of the use Of Q
guide, and small craft to be carried
on the bosom Of the hmpid water
The bottom can be seen distinctly
the bubbling up Of white sand indicates
the existence Of many fountains, The
spectator would seldom guess the
depth to be more than ten feet. In one
locality it is thirty feet mOver what
appears to be o issure in . rock, and
where an immense quantity of water
/ is poured forth, the depth is reported
to be thirty-three feet. ryy,s bas
Floating upon the top Of the water
are several varieties of water-ilies,
one Of which is called the 'bonnet
From the bottom springs the water
cress, and the water pepper or smart
weed, which attsins great height A
green .'moss' is also abundant and
Iuxuriant. In places, q species Of
"water grass" is found. These pro-
ducts Of the aquatic element are SO
thick at some points as TO obstruct
the passage OF the skiff. Some Of
the vegetable parasites float, and can
be set in motion during rise. The
spring proper is not affected by rain
falls. It is affirmed that during
quite cold weather there is an increas-
ed flow of water from the spring. IN
There is long fat leading into
the northern side of the spring, near
the lower edge, which is partially in
strumental in producing early rises.
1t is sometimes surcharged with
water, floods the spring, and raises
the river so as to submerge the val
ley. There are other drains which in
the rainy season emptyin the spring.
The guide tells Of . freshet which
gave an increased depth Of twelve
feet, and which damaged property on
both sides the river. I'D s-.u ~.
A short distance above the spring
stands an old wooden building. once
occupied by Gen. Edward Burleson,
gentleman who rendered Texas
most Efficient service. He was born
in North Carolina, in 179S. He set
tied in Tennessee during the year
1924, came to Texas in 1881, and
made his home near SIN Felipe de
Austin. This small place was at that
time the de fdeto seat Of government
Of Texas. Stephen +. Austin, and q
great many other men Of culture and
influence, had settled in and around
the little village.
These gentlemen. and those Of
eastern and northern Texas, controll-
ed afflirs. and shaped the destinies
Of their adopted country.
When the encroschments OF Gen
SInta Anna left no doubt Of his IN
ten.i0n to overthrow the constitu-
ton Of Mexico. to disxxm and op-
press the American eolonists Of TexsA
then the chivalrous spirits Of that
sparsly inhabited state determined 10
resist Tbeir measures were prompt
and exscated with energy An army
Of Texans besieged Gen Cos IN San
Antonio II vas commanded by Gen
Austin. and Cen B1rieson vN sec