Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-02-19
THE 6ONCHO COUNTRY.
Immigrants-Lively Inquiry for Farm
Lands-Queen of the COnehos.
A Fit Over the Plains-A Country Good
for the Rich and the Poor-The
Grievance OF Western Texas
sAx ANeEIO. TEx. Feb. 9. lsss.

During brief stay among the Conehos
and San Angeloans your correspondent
received pleasant courtesies from num-
Der of gentlemen, and had favorable
opportunities for gaining information
concerning the city and the country.
Mr.. W. S. Cunningham, formerly of
Galveston, but for some years past a
leading citizen of San Angelo, and a
conspicuous factor in the symmetrical
and firmset boom that has lifted the city
to the prominence of mountain peak in
the plain, has a warm grasp for the
stranger and the zeal of a successful
real estate dealer in the art of showing
his town and country, and ''hOlding,
as 'twere, the mirror up to nature. -
An afternoon S ride with him over
the plains, and out among
the irrigated farms and UNI
touched irrigable lands of the
Conchos afforded a chance for free con-
versatiOn and unembarrasSed inquiry
He had but the day before closed large
transaction, by which the Cunningham
& McGregor irrigated farm on North
ConchO, comprising more than 1000 acres
under the system, became the property Of
Mr.. Garrett, g practical, successful and
wealthy 1dIiutI 1IOH THIS anu
was, of course, in a fine mood for point
ing out the salient features of Tom Green
and expatiating ON the beauty product
iveness, climatic advantages, water sup
ply, settlement, growth and pros
poets OF that glorious paradise
of the Occident. He had sold
the magnificent farm at a figure far be-
low its actual value in order to secure the
citizenship and enterprise of a first-class
agriculturist from an eastern county, who
had ample means and a viii to develop
the advantages of scientific and practical
irrigation. When one such man as Mr..
Garrett rises up in the old settled COM
munities of the east, and takes his way
westward, with all his wealth and energy
and culture and enterprise, to plant "a
colony in the wilderness of the western
country, his going is not unlike the pillar
of fire by night, and multitudes follow
his lead in trusting confidence that he
has found the promised land.
A sturdy and intelligent class of pros
pectOrs from Eastern Texas and from
other states-Western and Southern
were met in the various real estate Of |
fees, and there seemed to be among /
them but one opinion as to the superiority |
of the Concho country for agricultural |
/
Three brothers named West from North /
western Arkansas had been with Frank |
Lerch to see the irrigable lowlands, !
the plains of Sherwood and the |
Lipan flats, and each one declared |
himself satisfied and ready to locate |
Two gentlemen from Mississippi were de-
lighted and had made up their minds to |
buy farms on the Concho. A party from |
Wisconsin and Iowa arrived and forth
with engaged teams to look at the farm
ing lands. In their country on that
same day, the mercury registered l0deg.
below zero, at San Angelo 81 deg above
The difference had fastened them to
and they were in a hurry TO
stake off the choice lots.
''There is a growing demand - said
Mr.. Cunningham, ''for agricultural
lands, and scarcely a day passes that
does not record one or more transfers
and add one or more citizens to Tom
Green. There is no rush of immigration,
but the tide is steady, and it is bringing us
a splendid citizenship. Our taxes are low,
our schools equal to the best, our people
hospitable and enterprismg, our lands
fertile, our climate equable,
and our water fairly good and abundant,
but we are long way towards
sunset from the old popu-
Ious centers and 1t is only the
daring, the intelligent, the welI-to-do
and the get-up-and-gct class of farmers
who have the courage to venture or the
the means to sustain so long trip and
build homes in the painless prairie
Nevertheless it is a good country for the
poor man, provided he be endowed with
integrity, high ambition and
habits of thrift. Such men can easily
make $50 to $500 an acre on these lands,
aud they need never fear that there
will be no market for their
products. The country and the city
ire growing and in the near future the
great railway combines will find it to
heir interest to revise the railroad maps
md build main lines and branches for
he trade and travel of the Coneho- PecOs
empire. -
Chow about the drouths?''
''We intend to irrigate these rich low
ands from the streams and the plains
rom surface and artesian wells. The
lipan flats, comprising probably 200 900
acres do not suffer from drouth to any
serious extent, while these hundreds of
thousands of acres of mesa lands,
Is you perceive, are almost level plain,
having grade to carry the water from
dignity elevated tanks all over the sur
ace. These lands can and will be sup
)lied with water-must be, in fact, till
general cultivation and the growth of
orests, orchards and vineyards begin to
egulate the seasons and bring the rains,
Is has been the case in other parts of
Texas and some aof the Northwestern
tates, once as treeless and as dry as
Western Texas now is. Fuel? We
AVE plenty of wood for fuel-enough 10
upply the country till the conditions
and artifcialIy incident to in
reasing population and expanding
wealth begin to supplement the wasting
upply We have not the slightest app
that we are TO perish from
hirst, be roasted by drought, swept
way by overlows or freeze to death for
Tant Of fuel.
"What are your railroad prospects,
ir. Cunningham
Barring unfriendly legislation by the
resent legislature, we are assured of
wo important roads. 1t has long been
he intention of the Texas and Pacific
at the right time, TO Duild a
ranch from Abilene to this point, and
he Arkansas Pass will surely extend from
comfort in this direction, if undeterred
Y obnoxious and oppressive legislation;
nd we hope TO get the Rock Island !
a fasTfl IN =