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

| gss Home.
| LAMpAsAs, TEXAS, April S.-This
beautiful town among the hills-I can
| almost imagine am at home in North
Georgia or Tennessee, aud 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 to
their tops anywhere, and these Texas
ponies never break their tireless trot.
This town Is in the crescent lap of q
range of these gently aloping 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, aud is moro abundant
aud moro desirable than brick. The
new court house is o handsome structure
and cost thirty five thousand dollars and
looks like 1t must have cost much more.
Everything here is on o rock basis. For
town of 1000 inhabitants and only
four years old, it is wonder of substan.
tial growth. A street railroad and two
ice factories are hero. Here you are just
over the border of Texas mud and can
walk anywhere with comfort, whether
wet or dry. If was rich man would
like to live in tampasas. It may be be.
cause I lo7e 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 ia
many q break between that O Texas
farmer would not like. Then there is
health here. Pure air aud pure water
and more than that, for here are the sul.
phur springs that are already becoming
famous, end that will some day make
this place the Saratoga of Texas. I have
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 80 strong and SO
odorous that you can smell it hundred
yards away. You get Whit of IL rs
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 end gaIvanizing
everything as 1t goes. The pool has o
beautiful miniature forest growing in It,
a plant that feeds and lives on sulphur
and never gets above the surface, for If
it does 1t dies. 1t 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 10 provi.
ded with splendid bathing rooms. A
magnificent hotel is near at hand, one
that cost ninety thousand dollars, and
there are handsome cottages = sar by that
n m St,rr usatk -
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 have been drink
ing it freely with hope that, even If I
am not sick, 1t 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, know, for everybody drinks this
water and seem to like it, though it is
almost as nauseous to me as q dose of
salts. On Sunday eve I counted forty.
seven persons at one spring, each of whom
had q jug or bottle or a 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. H, 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 homo beauty in
the country. Now, in our good old State
a traveller overland from town to town
can find cheerful homestead every mile
or tSo--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
a front room and shed, with stove.
pipe sticking ort-no barns, no stables
no shade trees, no fence or palingB to en-.
close the yard-uo nothing much, and I.
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 cora. 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 10 high and brick are high, but
they might plant shade trees and fix up
little. In this immediate region, from
Temple to L3mpasas, there are some
hopeful signs Of better improvements,
and I reckon it will come all right after
while.
Mr.. Burnett took me to the Centenne-
ry college that he is building as o me.
mortal 10 John Wesley and Methodism,
which is now 100 years old. He is one
Of natures earnest men--tireless, nggfes.
siye and eloquent--a Methodist pioneer
who years ago made violent assault
upon Texas lawlessness and iniquity.
He, preached here among them when it
was perilous to do 30, and they threatened
him and tried to bulldoze him, but they
couldent. was told that on one occa.
sien when they told him they would whip
him with q lsriaSif 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. como here, to preach the
gospel and run the Gospel mill I am a
free, white American citizen; I am 81
years Of age; i have q right to preach,
and, God willing, am going 70 do It
whether you are willing or not. have
no weapons bnt this good knife, and If I
can't preach in peace I will preach light.
ing and 6ght preaching. II / have got
70 fight just let it begin and I'll get q.
piece of somebody's ear for my baby to
cut teeth on" ..sS5,
But II is wonderful what one man can
do. They tell me that Judge Binkley
made Sherman and Peter Smith made