Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-01-10

An 600 coshes or rexAa
Rev ~ Lass ~ Rssaee os~ Bess cavs-
taed and Wse~ Out
Ispc1aI ec-r-.p,odsoce.I
wAsKoN. HaTscu Ceunfy, Tex
- date this BY ne nearest railroad depot,
70 which . co,orei boy nas agreed to carry
i,, for | am as comm srsiy oewiidered as 70
my location - /: riaIs were unknown Ai1er
much travel in the south, | have AZ Lass
reached = thoroughly old time plais--oos OF
those in which time has apparently stood
still since 1851. for this region is certainly no
more advanced than then Still there are
Signs OF change The negroes are certainly
NOT ,layes. though thar condition may Be
little te.ter, and tn, whites divide all time
into three eras-"asoh the wah. "ondoorin'
tbs wshr and '.sencs the surrendah.h IL is
SCARCELY nss,ssary 10 add that they are unani-
nous in thinking ''afob the wsh" decidedly
the test tine.
Perhaps they are right. too. for the soil is
now worn out Once 1t was included in the
famed red lands Of Texas aud was thought
Of wonderful fertility. 1t is a mixture OF
red sand and cheesy clay. aud while the black
mould Of rotting leaves and grass roots lasted
it produced dig crops; nov cross dozens OF
Old and abandoned fields which i'll not even
produce wire grass or mullen stalks. Unlike
those M South Carolina and other SOUTH
eastern states the abandoned fields here do
not grow Up in pine. Many Of them will not
even produce oak sprouts; they are, in fact,
Ike patches u complete desert. Aud very
few OF the cultivated fields produce as much
as quartz. OF bale Of cotton to tine acre
The peopie are rather despcndent " hen
asked why the region is so poor and unpro-
xressive nine out Of ten answer, "r,'p many
niggers
They are rather numerous, mns' admit,
comprising nearly twothirds Of the popula-
ton OF the county. Even in Marshall, an
important railrosd center, they are ma Dor
iry, and all have . curious air and general
heme life, Us if they had just moved in or
were Just about ready to move away, In
fact, a traveller through this section somehow
gets the impression that the negroes are all
nomadic. This began, | am told, in the
great rush TO this section when the Federal
armies penetrated Louisiana; the owners ran
their negroes over here for safety, and here
they have remained. As they are in u ma
jority, other negroes are constantly coming
in to be IN good company, and as many NOV
ing out because they find themselves too
crowded and hard pushed to 1--we"
As one draws near Soda lake and the other
water stretches near Red river, he finds the
land sinking into broad, half sxampy flats,
and on the eastern side Of the lake along the
river, are dense thickets where all kinds Of
wild game abound and even the brow bear
IL occasionally und- On the east side Of
the river. however, is a large tract Of very
fertile land. containing some of the finest
plantations in Louisiana; and little below
is Shreveport. And this reminds me that
much of this low land and jungle was actual
lake or swamp before Engineer Shrevs
achieved his great feat Of cutting away the
great natural raft"
No part of the United States has a more
romantic history than this region around
Soda lake and the Caddo; and if YOU like
stories favored with blood and adven ure
here is the place to hear them BY any old
settlers hearth you may ait through long
evening hstenin. 10 thrilling stories OF how
"Old Rose shot Bob Potter In Soda lake,
how Finn lived hermit on an is md in the
swamp till he was chased down 10y lie dogs
and shot by the hunters no mistonk him for
wild beast, how many were murdered and
many more robbed on ''Cainpbeis trace
and how the Regulators Of isioi. nans ed,
shit and whipped Till the moral atmosphere
WAS purified, then quarreled among them
selves and got up q civil war when the re-
public of Texas had to uppress.
1t was always a fighting region The In.
dams had this for military frontier before
the whites came. The Spanlards made it
their outpost against the eucroaching Ameri-
cans. The "Gachupinos" Mexican rebels Of
lslU-l2l marched from here to attack San
Ant l,,t pt.,ty
cruitinS stations OF Aaron Burr, and near
here the therokees and Texans began their
final struggle before the latter expelled the
former from the state-or rather the nation,
as 1t then was, Early i'll this century Spain
and the United States agreed that ali the
region from the upper Sabine eastward to
the Arroyo Hondo tone of the swampy afIiu-
ents of Red river should he neutral ground.
As this meant land without law IL soon
swarme'i with the lawless from ali tine al
joining states and the Mexican officer on one
side and American officer on the other had to
furnish military escorts for all the trading
caravans that crossed 1t.
1t sometimes happened that the heroes of
tine nentra ground whipped the escort, and
then their plumber was rich In ole Instance
tine Regulators" tied two Of these fellows to
tree and whipped them terribly to make
them confess where their plunuer was buried,
and finally passed live Goals over their raw
and bleeding backs. But they were gritty
rascals' and Kept their secret. In lsl2 Lieut.
Ma.ee, tlibuster, induced about so or 500
of these outlaws to march with him against
San Antonio. The Spaniards entrapped and
killed all but ninety Of them. mutiating
many OF those whom they released In those
days it was by no means uncommon to see a
with only one ear, the other having been
pared close to his head in mexican prison.
Such triling deficiencies as the loss of nu eye,
few fingers or part Of the nose were too
common TO excite inquiry. Indeed, it wasn't
considered good manners in those days 10 ask
personal question, 1t was also liable TO
prove unwholesome.
But the good old times passed away. Texas
became Independent, and the war between
the Regulators" and Law and Order
men cleared the ground for q better popu
lation. The great Texas Pacific now ira
verses the country, and IN the fertile sections
there Is much HE and progress. But over
all this old red land and Soda lake region
there is n duIlness and peace that passetb
understanding. Good people, too-pieasant
and hospitable generally religious and uni
formy polite. But they seem impressed
with the conviction that the soil Is played
out for cotton and that the niggers are
going to take the country this part Of IT,
J. }. MARTIN