The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-04-23
ARP IN TEXAS.
A Town That Reminds Him Of His Geor
gfa Home.

LAMpAsAs, TEXAS, April S,-Thi'
beautiful town among the hills-I cal
almost imagine I am at home in NORTH
Georgia or Tennessee, and can see the
Alleganys away off in the horizon
There are no peaks here or precipices
but the elevations are roundly rolling
and slope up gently, and one can drive tc
their tops anywhere, and these Texas
ponies never break their tireless trot
This town is in the crescent lap of 9
range of these gently sloping hills and
the sulphur fork of the Lampasas River
flows in winding way right through it.
It is rock.built town. Everything is
built of beautiful white limestone that
is quarried here, and is more abundant
and more desirable than brick. The
new court house is a handsome structure
and cost thirty. five thousand dollars and
looks like it must have cost much more.
Everything here is on rock basis. For
a town Of 1000 inhabitants and only
four years old, it is wonder of substan.
tial growth. A street railroad and two
ice factories are here. Here you are just
over the border of Texas mud and can
walk anywhere with comfort, whether
wet or dry. IF I was rich man / would
like to live in 1ampasas. It may be be-
cause love the hills better than the
plains. There are good farming lands
all round here along the river and creeks
and down in the valleys, but there is
many break between that Texas
farmer would not like. Then there is
health here. Pure air and pure water
and more than that, for here are the sui
phur springs that are already becoming
famous, and that will some day make
this place the Saratoga of Texas. Ihave
seen sulphur springs before, but never
any to compare with these. Their vol.
ume Of water is amazing. Either of the
two largest ones afford enough water to
turn mill, and on one of the streams
there are mills right in the town-mills
run by sulphur water so strong and so
odorous that you can smell it a hundred
yards away. You get q Whit Of il as
soon as you land at the depot, and before
anyone has told you you exclaim, II
smell sulphur One of the pools is rs
feet in diameter and is six feet deep and
escapes through the bath houses and
swimming pools, coating and galvanizing
everything as it goes. The pool has g
beautiful miniature forest growing in it,
plant that feeds and lives on sulphur
and never gets above the surface, for if
it does it dies. It will not grow in pure
water or feed upon the air. A beautiful
building of solid white stone masonry
encloses one of the springs and is proyi.
ded with splendid bathing rooms. A
magnificent hotel is near at hand, one
that cost ninety thousand dollars, and
there are handsome cottages near by that
are rented to Summer visitors. The park
is adorned with live oaks and pecan trees,
and contains rs acres of ground.
don't know personally whether sui
phur water is good for the ills that flesh
is heir to or not, but I have been drink.
ing it freely with hope that, even if 1
am not sick, it may rejuvenate my youth
and make me want to live longer and
prance around, as Joe Harris says.
These good people here tell of marvel.
lous cures, and they believe what they
say, I know, for everybody drinks this
water and seem to like it, though it is
almost as nauseous to me es dose OF
salts. On Sunday eve counted forty
seven persons at one spring, each OF whom
had jug or bottle or pitcher and
had come for water. 1t is the common
rendezvous of the town-the piazza, the
Central park.
Lampasas is town of exceptional
moral character but few saloons and no
variety shows, and no saloons or stores
kept open on Sunday. :,
The Rev. R. Fl. Burnett rode me all
around, and saw many lovely cottage
houses upon the hills. I am still most
forcibly struck with the beauty of Texas
towns and the lack Of home beauty in
the country. Now, in our good old State
a traveller overland from town to town
can find cheerful homestead every mile
or two-a place where he could say,
"Let us stop here and stay overnight"
Not so in Texas. The country homes
are dark and dingy huts-most generally
front room and a shed, with a stove
pipe sticking out-no barns, no stables
no no shade trees, no fence or palings to en-.
close the yard-uo nothing much, and [
have wondered where and how the farm
ers live, and where they keep their gath.
cred crops. A few pens covered with
poles and straw keep the corn. The oats
are stacked. The cotton hurried to the
gin. am sorry for the good wife and
The girls who have to live this way.
There is no sufficient excuse for it either.
Lumber is high and brick are high, but
they might plant shade trees and fix up
little. In this immediate region, from
Temple to Lampasas, there are some
hopeful signs of better improvements,
and reckon it will come all right after
while.
Mr.. Burnett took me to the Centenna-
ry college that he is building as a me.
mortal 10 John Wesley and Methodism,
which is now 100 years old. 1Ie is one
of natures earnest men-tireless, aggres'
sive and eloquent-a Methodist pioneer
who wears ago made violent assault
upon Texas lawlessness and iniquity.
He preached here among them when it
was perilous to do 80, and they threatened
him and tried to bulldoze him, but they
couldent. was told that on one occa-
sion when they told him they would whip
him with a lariat if he dared to preach.
he mounted the rude platform and laid
an open dirk knife on the shelf beside
his Bible, and said: "My unpenitent
friends, have come here to preach the
gospel and run the Gospel mill am a
free, white American citizen; l am q
years of age; I have a right to + preach, aS :,
whether you are willing or not. l have
no weapons but this good knife. and if /
can't preach in peace I will preach fight
ing and fight preaching. If I have got
to fight just let it begin and I'll get a
piece of somebody's ear for my baby to
cut teeth on"
But it is wonderful what one man can
do. They tell me that Judge Binkley