Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-11-07
IMMIGRATION.

The governor OF Texas is reported
to have set himself down as opposed
to immigration. The governor OF
Texas was once an immigrant himself,
and Texas stands handsome monu-
ment to what immigration will do.
Probably the State would be better
or if his excellency should again con-
clude to emigrate. We have always
longed for hegira OF politicians from
Tennessee, and other commonwealth
would, no doubt, rejoice in like
experience.
But Texas don't yet need to shut
out that better class of citizen into
which the immigrant with muscle
and the immigrant with money is
speedily changed. Her broad prai-
ries have been converted into rich
farms and where the deer roamed
twenty-five years ago splendid cities
now stand; but Texas is not finished.
Her area is four times as great as
that OF England, but her population is
twenty times less and her wealth is
not equal to ten thousandth part OF
that OF the city of London.
This writer was in Texas several
years ago, and met there some OF
those queer specimens of mankind,
known as cold settlers" They were
quaint in their notions and alto
gether sui ge'aeris, but their ideas on
this immigration question were no
more fossihferous than those enter
tanned by some of sour people" herea-
bouts, who pose as specimens of 10Th
century enlightenment.
We especially remember an old
gentleman, known as Mack Wright,
who lived about Greenville, in Hunt
county. He was aged and wrinkled,
looked at you curiously with small,
sunken, pale blue eyes, and talked
with conscious sagacity in a monot-
onous tone. He was an oracle on
some points among the natives, a
hardshell Baptist in belief and downed
all the Methodist Whereabouts in bibli-
cal arguments, which usually took
place while the disputants were seated
on goods boxes in front of the few
stores then in Greenville.
This old Texan said to us one day /:
"This country hain't nigh what it used
ter be. Their new corners is ruinin'
of it."
@Why," he continued, "fve year ago
when l wanted ter kill deer all / had
to do wuz ter go up yonder on my
place wher Their is sort of hill and
look round over the prairie, and I'd
be sure ter see herd brouisin' some
whers. But these new commers is
fencin' up the land and runin' all the
deer out of the country. Some of
these folks here talk about wantin'
railroad ter Greenville, but / don't see
no use on it."
After delivering this homily on the
degeneracy of the times he gave the
writer one of his critical side glances
and inquired: "Wher did you come
from young man?"
"From West Tennessee"
That's a good country, lived Their
forty years ago. Lots of bar in that
country
We were prepared to assure the old
man OF the good health of Davy
Crockett when we left home, but he
didn't press such inquiries.
Two important railroads now cross
each other at Greenville. 1t is quite
a flourishing town and we suppose
~Uncle Mack" passed out of the world
before the elimination of such pestif-
erOus progress.
There are people around GAINESVILLE,
supposed to be sensible, who enter
tain just such ideas in regard to this
country as old Mack Wright did
about the Texas of his day. They
think it can't be improved and the
way to perpetuate its Eden-like per-
lection is to shut out all new COM
er5," especially them d-n yankees"