San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-10-27

t00A4HD VOS0se s~t W
the road side by side. gave them the
dridle-reins. and went in : sweeping
trot the six miles, where We wear hos
pitably entertained; and then for the
first and only time in my life SLEPT on
one feather bed, with another for q
covering.
At that carly day their was much
much in the character and habit OF the
people Of all grasses and occupations
much the varied characteristics of the
country, then seen almost in the state
of nature, being occupied only by the
villages and farms, small and far be-
tween each other-much in the varied
productions to the extent then exhibited
much Of the history and institutions
of the country to arrest the attention
and excite the Investigations of an
linquiring mind. The lawyers with
when I associated were, for the most
part, men of great intellectual vigor
and of distinctive characters, no two
of them being alike in their leading
attributes. So with other citizens, q
strong individuality and q general in
telligence in uncommon sence matters
characterized them. Men Of no class
seemed to be built on any common pat
tern in anything, but each stood out
for himself, a unit in the association Of
people here,thrown together from diff
ferent localities. There were men who
had settled in the country as for as
1892, and had passed through and par
ticipated in all the revolutions that had
TRANSFERRED, some Of them as officers in
the army, and others as officers Of civil
life. Most of them we're familiar with
the string events of the past, and had
leisure and willingness to freely COM
municate them. The old settlers knew
each other often for hundteds Of miles
distant. Thus the opportunity was fur
nished to learn much of the past histo-
ry of the institutions and the men of
Texas. u ~ y. IN
Through the region Of country over
which I first travelled was small i'm ex-
tent compared to all TIE territory Of
Texas, it presented great variety, in
almost everything, in the different parts
of Indifferent in its soils, it's growth
of trees, shrubs, vines and grasses, as
we'll as in it's streams of water, its farm,
garden and orchard products. Having
some learning in the natural sciences,
I very soon began to notice and fix in
my mind the facts constituting those
naked differences, and, without any
specific object in SO doing, commenced.
to investigate the reasons therefore.
In a few years my business led me to
extend these researches from Red Ri
yer to the gulf coast, and as far west as
Fort Worth and Austin, and afterward
to San Antonio in the west. Through
out all the country over which I pass
ed I discovered these differences in the
condition Of things in different sections
to have largely increased, which fur
nished still wider field for my inves-
tigation. To this was added the read
ing of everything I could find, and
conversations with well-informed per-
sons, calculated to give me information
about other sections of the State over
which I had not travelled. One very
great advantage of travelling over the
country then, was that it was done on
horseback or in stages, which gave
much greater opportunities for observ-
ing all the peculiarities of the different
sections of the country than the pres
ent mode of travelling by railroads.
There never having been as yet but
very limited geological survey, or, in.
deed, a survey of any kind by which
accurate information could be obtained |
on many subjects treated of, I have had |
to rely in this work on the best inform
alton that could otherwise obtain.
Having collected and preserved many
facts pertaining to Texas, and being
engaged in teaching law class in the
years of 1868, 1869 and 1870, I deliver
ed to the students occasional lectures,-
much of what is here pre-.
sented, with view tn give to those
young gentlemen a good knowledge of
the various characteristics and bast re.
sources of the state in which they ex-
pected to spend their lives. Since then
it has been put i'm the present shape,
and is now published to give such gen.
aral inflammation as IL contains and nc |