San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-12-15


stands in admiring amazsment! VIII
.ny man, under such facts, deny the
far-seeing wisdom Of those ,oid'"me
Texans, or deride their memory as
Bourbons. fossils, or moss backs! bu'
this is, SO to speak, depression. MY sole
object is to bring to the minds OF our
people an idea of the future grandeur
of Texas. The territorial area OF the
State. greater than either the German
or the French empire, speaks for ITSELF
But the popular idea has long been that
Southwest, West and Northwest Texas
was vast wilderness, fit only for cattle
and sheep. This impression long
known by the well-informed to be
erroneous, is now dispelled by ocular
demonstration. The great Southwest OF
the State, once called by Senator
Benton, teens with as rich q soil as
there is between the Mississippi and
the Rio Grande, and will become
speedily under railroads ynowlin opera
ton, vast producer Of sugar, cotton
and semi.tropical fruits. West Texas
proper, from Eastland across the plains
and mountains to Ell Paso, now pierced
by the Texas & Pacific Railroad, and
connected with California and the whole
United States on and east of the Mis-
sissippi is destined to become the
grsndest wool growing country on the
continent. The idea Of it's being .
desert is an exploded myth. Take out
the sandlhills and the broken mountains
cast them sway as worthless enough
OF generous soil and nutritious grass
remains to make it garden spot OF the
earth.'s Ssg
atItsis simply astounding to trace the
rapid growth Of the Spanish and Amer
lean elements in Mexico, in California
in Louisians, and in Texas, since the
beginning OF this century 90
Governor Throckmorton, still young
man, only fifty-seven on the 9TH OF
February, 1882, is one Of the links that
binds us to the past, reviving all OF
these marvellous memories. He moved
from Arkansas with his father in lS41 be-
fore annexation, and before the Mexican
war in which he served as . volunteer
in 1S47. He has lived to see the first
railroad built across the Rocky Noun
tains which unites California, conquer
ed from Mexico thirty-four years ago,
with Texas on the north, and has as
sisted to construct other transcontinen-
tai lines uniting the Pacific with the
Gulf of Mexico and the great lakes and
the Atlantic Ocean; and more than all,
he has lived to see Texas itself assum-
ing its ascendency as the largest com
in our galaxy of States,
opening wide it's doors to the commerce
of the world, contributing by its vast
and moral resources to the first
civilization of the Republic Of Mexico
on it's borders, and to the magical re-
dcmption of Louisiana, tho theatre of
Thomas JefIerson's greatest acquisition,
more than thrse-quarters Of century
ago. In very remarkable speech by
Governor ThrockmortOn, when he was
q memb of Congress, on the LIST of
March, 1879, he described some Of the
future productions of only forty out of
two hundred counties in tbs State OF
Texas, while he was advocating the
OF the Texas & Pacific
Railroad, under the auspices Of the late
illustrious Thomas Alexander Scott
An extract from this thoughtful address
will give touch of its quality, and at
the same time furnish IN insight into
the marvellous resources of Texas.
"Thsse forty counties average moro
than 900 square miles each in extent,
but putting the average at 900 square
miles, we have 100000 900 acres of land.
Any person acquainted with the section
of country to which 1 allude, and its
agricultural resources, will concsde the
fact that one-haH Of these 100000
acres is of the richest quality Of land.
Indeed, one-half is below the truth,
but for the sake Of the argument that
propose to present, I pat it at one-half.
Now, sir, il the half of these $4,000, 900 |
acres was cultivated in cotton, and
only ons-hah bale to the acre, which