San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-10-11
.aa,t,oral Notes and Comments.

| Additional Notes ana comments
| Under this head We shall hastily lo'
down some miscellaneous points which
have occurred to US since the foregoing
article was prepared.
In speaking Of our rivers We might
have enumerated the Pcrdinales among
them. al il flows across a corner OF the
county. 1t is wild mountain stream
flowing through very deep canons Simi'
lar to those Of Colorado.
The "swapping off, Of some OF oul
mountainous region referred to, had rel
erence TO the project of new county to
be composed OF portions OF Hays, Irav'
IL and Blanco counties. r.,
In onumerating the productions OF the
county We should have spoken OF honey
There is no better country tor bees prob
ably in the world. There are in the
mountains some immense caves nlled
with wild honey. -. ,.r
The river bottoms as well rs the hills,
are supplied with timber in great varie'
~. Large bodies OF it lie above the
junction Of the San Marcos ana the
Apropos of fish, we have seen cat
fish caught in the San. Marcos whic h
weighed upwards of 80 lbs.
We find We have not SPOKEN OF our
Mexican population. They, are here IN
considerable numbers, and since the
Catholic church was built here, they are
increasing in numbers, but are rather
transient in their habits. They are OF
the lower class, and employed to do the
more common and rougher jobs OF work,
Besides the black land, we have sew.
eral other varieties of soil, all good and
productive. =,
The San Marcos and Guadalupe
throughout their entire course abound
in fine sites for water power.
1t has been suggested to US that our
statement as to the price of improved
lands is too high, save for quite small
tracts, and that the true range for large
tracts, and common improvements wonld
be from S. to sl5 per acre. Our remarks
as to the cost of improvements, also ap.
ply to small tracts, and the adoption OF
the hog law in certain sections, and the
proximity of railroads and consequent
greater cheapness of lumber, would prob.
ably in Justice demand o considerable
abatement on the figures on this subject
contained in the body of our article.
A very agreeable feature of Texas ia
the equality of condition Of the people.
The extremes both of wealth and pow
erty are pretty much unknown.
Reptiles and vermiD are much less
numerous and troublesome than is pop.
ularly supposed abroad. We resided
here five years before we CHANGED to see
a venomous reptile. thong rattlesnakes
and coppcrheads are not uncommon IN
the mountains. The centipede is the
only dangerous specimen of the vermin
tribe. House flies are far less nnmer-
Gus and troublesome than at the North.
There is considerable game in the
mountain part of the county. Besides
the smaller varieties, deer are frequent,
and bears. catamounts, etc., are some
times met with.
The county rests on limestone for
lnaClOn: gypsum apouuao III pA"o0o l"
the hills.
The ugly names" of certain locali-
ties of the county will be apt to attract
the notice of the reader. The worst of
these is Dead Mans Hole" which,
calling up as it does, hideous recollec-
ton of a dark period, it seems greatly
to be desired should be entirely and fer
eyer blotted out and forgotten,
The source of the San Marcos, as we
have stated elsewhere, is merely a mat.
ter of conjecture, but the weight of
probability is in favor Of the theory
that it originates in the Rocky Noun
tains or adjacent regions, The state
ment of Bishop Doggett, elsewhere
given, that the water has an alkaline
taste, favors the idea that it may be de-
rived from the alkali plains in that di-
rection.