The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-03-29
THE SOUTHWEST.
General Eckert's Story Of Texan Pros
peElsy, Order ami Knro;, ress.
New York WOrld.1

A reporter of the - ord yesterday found
General Eckert at the Windsor hotel, looking
very bright and fresh after his recent trip to
the southwest in company with Mr.. Gould,
Mr.. Sloan, and other gentlemen interested in
southwestern railways. On being requested
by the reporter for some account of The ma
ture of the country Though which he had
passed. General Eckert goodnaturedly repll-
ed that he would gladly give any informa-
ton in his power. His trip had, he said, been
necessarily a rapid one.
"You are carrying the Western Union
wires,are you moi, Towards Mexico ?" inquired
the reporter.
eyes, toward Mexico and toward the Pa
cific; there will be about twelve hundred
miles of railway and the same length of tel
egrapll wire laid during the coming year"
with what points to the eastward will
these lines he directly connected %
"They will all center at ST. Louis butthey
will be connected with New Orleans through
Shreveport, and this connection, will be COM
pleted before the close of the present year"
did you find any important local traffic
springing up along these lines ?"
"!ertainly the central belt of Texas in
particular is the richest cotton region, l sup
pose, in the republic, some Of the land pro-
! uucing, | am told, two bales to the acre.
! Within the same belt the cereals also yield
abundantly- wheat, corn, barley and oats,
and. as you know, Texas includes "a vast
area of fine grazing country"
"DO the railway lines now building follow
| this belt OF do they cross it:??
''Both. A very important trade is growing
up between the eastern portion of 1eXas and
the rest of the state. Eastern Texas is full
of very fine lumber-long-leaved pine and
other woods-which, when the roads are
completed, will make a very profitable return
freight on the lines which bring down cotton
and other products to the coast
''lS the country settling up and with 4 good
populalion"'
Yes; | think it is; there is a considerable
movement OF emigration from other states of
the Union and a large and steady influx OF
Germans. The census shows that Texas is
| growing more rapidly than almost any other
state in the Union at the present time"
Where Is the cattle region Of TeXas?'
''Cllictiy in southern and southwestern
Texas, although grazing is general through
| out the state ami the climate is favorable to
that interest. We found the weather pleas
/ ant wherever We went and although the peo-
pie complained of a severe winter, we found
the peaches and apricots IN blossom in the
beginning of March,"
sis what you saw of it a tiue fruit country?'
II should think the northern part of the
state is. Across the border Ill Arkansas, at
Little Rock, we saw an interesting collection
of fruit, grain, woods and other products,
made by The land agent of the Iron Mountain
railroad, which surprised us. l saw there
apples, peaches, aprcots and pears of great
size and beauty, as large, in fact, as | ever
saw anywhere, and all of them open-air
fruit
CHOW did you find the city Of Galyestop?'
BUSY and prosperous, though we were not
there in the best business season. l visited
their frecently opened scotton exchange and
found it a very fine building, which would do
credit to any northern city,
"Did you hear much of murders and vi
olenCe in the state"
Nonsense" said General Eckert, laughing.
ave found the country as quiet as any part
of the Union. We tOund no disorder any.
where; in fact, we did not see a single drunk.
en- man in all Texas. And now that l think
of 1t, none of our party saw a drunken man
during our journey to Texas and back until
We got back, when We came upon one
just outside of the ferry house."
"Did You hear much of politics in Texas??'
"Little or nothing. We went there on
business and found the people generally alb.