The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-06-05
GOOD THING FOR GRAHAM
THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT 1T is
A Quiet Visit From Some "BiG Rich
strangers-Are They After Lands,
Coal Mines or RaiIroads-WhEt
Public opinion Is.

GRAHAM, June IL Correspondence, /
Notwithstanding the great quantity of
rain, the yield of small grain will be
enormous, and perfection ia quality.
The entire valley Of The Brazos river
now presents the appesranance of one
vast garden. The following information
is no doubt closely true, and will soon
revolutionize this region into one Of OK.
ceptlonpI vlgOr ana rapid progress:
About five weeks ago Col. E. s. Ora.
ham quietly contracted with a party
10 put Gown A shaft near
here, since which time the
work has been vigorously prosecuted.
About the lime the work began and
during It's progress, III various intervals,
several strangers, seemingly of separate
business interest, have come and gone
During their visits they were silent as
10 their business, avoiding and carefully
opposing any associations or converse
lions with anyone except Col. Graham,
who alone accompanied them on their
| EXCLUSIONS cOngenial company, no
DOUBT, for them, it being one of his
peculiar charac .eristics to keep private
his own affairs and resist
all inquiry pertaining to his
private business. The presence
and man@uyers of the strangers.
hover, raised the.public curiosity to the
highest pitch to show from Whence,
whom and the business of these pros
pectors, If such they were. The more
observpnt citizons restrained asking the
colonel relative to their business. The
HERALD correspondent, however, know
ing thai while he would refuse any in
formation Where privacy was at all es-
sential, but in its absence would yolun-
tarily state Sufficient to satisfy all re-
spectful inquiry, asked him whether or
not these strangers were in fact
or represented the ScOtChmen
who about year ago proposed to buy
his lands In this and adjoining counties,
which, by the way, are perhaps more
select and valuable than any other Of
equal acreage that can be found. The
question received an emphatic answer
in the negative, the colonel adding that
this DO y of ScOtChmen were not will
ling year ago TO pay what now,
Notwithstanding the hard times, is only
q tenth Of their real worth. So these
doubling Thomases from bold Scotland,
through failure to close on his offer. lost
bargain. Connecting all circum-
stances with what it has been
possible to learn from an ON
ploye in the shaft spoken of,
leads TO the belief that something very
important TO Graham's interests Is now
near at hand and to the surmise that
parties from abroad are arranging Tor
railroad work, probably the Kansas
Southern branch of tho AtchsOn, To. |
peBa and Santa Fe via the Indian Terri |
tory, Graham aud San Antonio to the |
Cult and Huntington's extension of tho |
WaXshachio branch via Fort Worth, |
Col Graham has repeatedly said: "For |
our earliest railroad facilities we mu 4 |
rely on new and not old and existing |
railroad companies in Texas"
An emplOye in this shaft says that thew |
have cut vein of coal 4j inches in thick |
ness under depth Of about 90 feet of
solid rock and slate, which discovery |
caused the colonel to remark to The |
strangers: "This gives fulfillment to
the belief | have entertained for several
years that the true basins of coal proba. |
bly, to be found in the holt which crosses
Texas, southwestorly from the Indian
Territory into Mexico, would be in
Young county, and on the Rio Grande
river" This, if equaled in desirable
thickness and quality, is not surpassed
by the best coal mines of KANSAS. or
ne came from the coal
fields OF Kentucky, and is
also familiar with those of Indiana, West
Virginia ana Tennessee, and from great
experience Is most competent to determ-
inc and accurately measure these coal
stratas Many veins of coal have here
COfore been reported by inexperienced
persons, whOhsve reported, claimed aud
believed double or three times its
actual thickness in coal, which veins as
really included bitumineus.
shale and slate. Since the discovery the
colonel has contracted for another shaft
10 be promptly sunk several miles dis
.ant from tho first. Ho has already
shipped from the first shaft two sample
hogsheads of coal, one destined
Boston, the other for New York CITY. 10
say the least of IL, something Is in the
wind and as yet IN tho absence of
knowledge of certain facts, the more ob.
serving citizens surmise that something
big and good Is on the tapis for this soc,
ton. II all this should prove true, Il
will oe patent TO every observer that
the sooner the Dallas people realize
their fond expectations for the yet
greater growth, wealth and influence of
Dallas, they must cease to rely Gas they
certainly have too long and vainl ~
upon nor natural advantages. Both the
quantity and quality OF this coal be-
ing now satisfactorily and conclusively
demonstrate d twill be sheer lack of
business foresight should the near
cities OF Gainesville, Dallas, Fort Worth
and Waco hesitate or fail TO push their
railroads out here and seize hold of
this, their only reliance for the increase
OF their manufactures. The trifie of
cost 70 come here after their respective
prizes, worth millions of dollars, is
enough to induce immediate coustrc-
ton.