The Russellville Democrat., 1883-01-25
RambIes in Texas.
NO.

IeUJeT, IS tue crossing oI bne lIJefua- tional and Texas Central railroads, and perhaps there may be round house and machine shop, l did not see them, but the number of side tracks, depots and freight boxes, in dicate considerable business for the railroads at least. l am not able to say anything special of many of the towns along this road from the fact that had no time to see them. It was so at Hearne. My impressions, however, are that it is 8 town of no mean appearance. But who could form correct opinion of our own town from look of 20 minutes from the depot? No traveller can tell any thing of a town from having passed by it on the tram. His own i'm pressions, sometimes will not take shape, and are entirely lost. Such was the case with the writer, in re- gards great many towns on the road.
 While Hearne is railroad center we made no close connection with any train on the other road. The fact is, it seems to be the standing rule with Texas railroads that the train shall never reach any given point until all other trains are gone.
 From Hearne it is only few miles to the Brazos River, winch at the time we crossed was considerably swollen by the recent heavy rains. This is not a very large stream, but might be very dangerous one when up, if one were to try to paddle up stream. It would, at least, afford him the opportunity to exert himself more than lazy man would llke.- On this stream l saw the first farm in Texas which could be called a good one. It was very large, con- tanning, I was told. some 5000 or 4000 acres, I was informed that it was the property of one of the men who has charge of the Penitentiary convicts, and that it was cultivated by the convicts. Almost as far as you could see down the river the cot ton fields presented very much the appearance of snow bank. There was corn on one part of the farm, but was too far of to tell much about it.
 After leaving the Brazos we pass ed through another narrow strip of timbered land, which to me, as travelled, had much the same appear. ance as the land between Hearne and Palistine. This skirt of timber crossed and we are in the s'hog wal low' Prairies. Everybody has eith- CT seen, heard of, or read about them, therefore description is not neces sary. It will be enough for me to say they arc rightly named, and not only so, but he who named them could have done so without any la- bored hunt for name. They look about as much like hog wallow, as A hog looks like hog, and you know ,hat is very striking similarity Everybody who has visited that part of Texas where they are found, has, perhaps, been asked what caused these wallows. And nobody knows. A great many theories propose to solve the problem, but I reckon they all amount to guess work. One says they are formed from cracks in the earth in the dry season, and when rain falls the brink crumbles and falls in, leaving depression on the surface resembling hog wallow, but heard of no new ones forming, but the earth cracks the same. Some say they are really Buffalo wallows Are they found where these animals wailow now? These to my mind are about as reasonable as that the pee cary or Mexican hog widowed them out. 1 noticed one pecuiiarity about the wallows. When formed on the hiIl-sides, they run up and down the mll and present the appearance oi long furrows, whether this is univer- sal or not l cant say. l only saw 1t as above stated. It was SO wherever l remained.
 To form an idea of how disagreea- ble buggy ride would be over one or these prairtes you have only to drive across a large cotton field at an angle of forty-fiyc degrees. These pralries are very rich, and when they have seasons, yield an abundant crop of corn, cotton, wheat, oats and potatoes. think l saw larger po- tatoes in Texas than I ever saw in any other country.
 The corn and cotton crops for 'S2 are very abundant. The cotton was not gathered when left Texas, about the 10th of Dec, and in many places corn was in the field. I was told that the season had been unusually good.
 There is, however, one great ms. fortune connected with the hog wal lows. When there is much rain the water stands on the level land even after they have been leveled down by cultivation. The consequence IS, that crops are sometimes drowned out.
 From Hearne we went to Wilano junction, at the crossing of the 1. X C. N. road, by the Guls, Colorado & santa Fe railroad. Wilano is new town, built up within the last few years. While there are quite mum Der Of buildings to be seen, they all