The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-12-10
THE PROGRESS OF TEXAS.
tn American Review for December.

THE PROGRESS OF TEXAS.
North American Review for December.
It is a beautiful tradition that, when
the Spanish explorers first landed on the
shores of Matagorda Bay they were met
by the natives with emblems of peace,
and that the first word spoken by the chief,
as he advanced to meet the holy father
who stood under the banner of the cross,
was "Tekas," meaning welcome. By easy
transition Texas became Texas, and thus
named the province which is now the State.
When pronounced in the language of the
Cid, Tejas* (Tehas) is soft and musical
and its significance (welcome) is symbolic
of the generous hospitality of the people
that inhabit the State and form her gov
erment; and, surely, no State or nation
has a history more Respondent with acts
of true hospitality and genuine welcome.
In 1922 colony of three hundred fami
lies came to Texas. under contract
made by Stephen T. Austin, a native of
Connecticut, with the Mexican government.
They were of that hardy, intelligent race
who were the pioneers of civilization
on the North American continent, and they
brought with them the qualities that make
men great and useful. They we're imbued
with the love of liberty, and of the princi-
pies upon which the United States COVER
ment was founded. The colonists settled
on the alluvial lands of the Brazos, Trim
ity and Colorado Rivers. Attending strict
ly to their own affairs, they avoided the
various Pelitieaf eRmpli cations ofths gov
erment under which they had come to live.
Yet their very prudence became their
offense. They were annoyed. and finally
oppressed, by that despotic government.
Then throwing off all allegiance to Mexi-
co, they declared their independence, and
with their swords carved their boundaries
from the SABINE to the Rio Grande.
The men who formed the constitution
of 1886 were typical of the free institu
tions under which they were born. Descen-
dants of the men of 1916, the first act of the
newly freed people of Texas was to ex-
tend invitation and weltOme to all the
world, by offering to every man who would
come among them a portion of the do
main they had won. To each head of a
family they gave 400 acres, and to each
single man 1880 acres. These generous in
ducements offered by the republic, as well
as her chivalric and romatic history, attrac-
ted settlers from all directions. A COVER
nment patterned after that of the United
States was formed, and the Republic of
Texas established itself among the nations
as sovereign power, recognized and
respected.
Nine years of independence passed
away-from 1887 to 1S46-when, after due
elaboration, without pressure from any
source, like the son who had wandered
from his fathers roof and tested the
worlds attractions but found nothing so
congenial as the old home, the men of
Texas, seeking no grander destiny, asking
no other fate, threw this magnificent en-
pire all their own, this rich diadem gilt
tering with deeds of patriotism, courage
and wisdom. at the feet of the mother
country, and became part of the great
American Union. The survivors of that
time, and of those events, look back
through the dim vista of time upon the
historic drama of 1916, only to realize that
the annexation of Texas was the direct
cause of the war with Mexico, the acquisi-
ton of California, and of the political
questions beginning with the repeal of
the Missouri compromise and eliminating
in the war between the States, which clo-
sed at Appomattox. Yet these patriarchs
feel that their action was right, and that
the fate which ruled it was the fate of
brothers; and with their brothers they
shared it.
In 1865, at the close of the war, Texas
was demoralized and almost ruined. 1t is
true she had been spared the tramp of
hostile armies; yet her material wealth was
gone, her loss in slaves alone being $137,
10000. Her labor system. had been des:
troyed, confidence had fed, and hope had
departed. The pursuits of the people, be it
Remembered, had been essentially agricul-
turai and pastoral; but agriculture lay
paralyzed, and the flocks and herds of the
grazier were scatterd and lost. Added to
such misfortune, the iron heel of the con-
queror came to crush the really brave and
genuine manhood of Texas. But the men
who had strongly met the storm of war
were prepared to meet its consequences
the psscing in their stead the selfish
stranger ard the ignorant negro. Gov
erned, however, by a class that only
sought tbs deeper degradation of the peo-
pie, we csn understand that Texans nat
urally reverted to the expressions of the
Mexican rule, and found no consolation
by comparison. The days seemed dark in
deed. This state of things, amerliorating
gradually but with agonizing slowness,
came to an end in 1874. Reason resumed
her throne. After nine years of experience,
those who controlled the government of
the nation realized that the way to treat
brave men was to trust them, and SO re-
stored to the people their political rights.