Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-02
TIMES IN TEXAS.
:, ,ioiscenceS Of Early Days, as
Nf poIated by One of the Actors.
unt Of the Life of Moses Austin
~ One of the Sturdy Pr
~ oroers Of the Lone Star State
,.ton with stephen F. Austin and
Bis ''D' ~ history Makers-Incidents
,bo, Can't Help but Interest

Fo' 'I ,,.as austin Bryan, was born on
p,n branch of the Tar Blue
hl1' : St Genevieve county in the
I'VE .a-ritory of Missouri on the 25th day
'-' -.a,ember. 1917, the third son of
q mean and Emily Austin Bryan.
g1r, James Bryan carried on mer-
Lilo business and mining and smelling
'1 aI.a5 ors. Ny father died in Hercu-
on the Mississippi river, TWEEN
l'D,- lilies below the city of ST. Louis,
80, Nv mother, who was Miss EN-
il ,...f, an only daughter of Moses
~ married, after my father s
.1 lanes F. Perry in 1924, who was
.-.nert in Potosi, Washington
= Missouri. We moved to POtosi,
..rn laid off by my grandfather,
49,. austin, when Missouri belonged
...bs government of Spain. 1 went TO
.,,I there until 1 was eleven years old.
,-...arr.aI in Perry & Hunters store at
po,o,f till December, 1880, when Perry
.,5 rnurer concluded to move to Texas.
accompanied ". W. Hunter with the
Ids from the store down the Missis-
--;+o New Orleans, thence to Texas.
~, rsft New Orleans on the oath of De-
..,,,,ar 1880. At New Orleans Mr..
TI.rtsr met Mr.. Robert Mills frcm Bra
,o-;a who was in New Orleans buying a
,,.ct of goods. Mr.. Hunter aud w. w.
,clrs succeeded in inducing Capt. Hat
,,1 from Name, who had brought a
T-o7 of 1rrber TO New Orleans in his
s,boonp- Maria, to transport their
-,,is n Brazoria. We sailed out OF the
Ea.sn hack of New Orleans, down the ca
nal through Lake POnchartrain and
lake Borne into the gulf with twenty
seven or tweEty-eight passengers. On
the ID OF January, 1881, We entered the
P-qzoria river and l first put foot Oh
Texas soil. OF the passengers on that
trfp. all are dead except Mr.. Mills and
myself. Mr. Mills is now eighty-one
years old and I am three score and ten
landed If the town of BTaZOria three
dgvs later, and l arrived at the town Of
san Felipe de Austin January 10, 1881.
San Feline was the first town laid off in
Texas bv my uncle, Stephen F. Austin.
IN three or four weeks Perry & Hun
ter's store was opened in San Felipe,
their goods having been brought in
wagons from BTazOTia. l was engaged
during the year 1881 selling goods to the
pioneer settlers. most of whom were
dressed IN buckskin, and to the Japan,
Kaukowa and Bedie Indians, with whom
] exchanged goods for buffalo hides and
deer skins, brought from what is known
as Washington county. In June, 1881,
boarded with "Uncie jimmy and
"Auut Betsy Whites;des, who were
among the pioneer settlers of Austin s
first colony. Their only son, Tilford is
new living and is about seventy-fve
years old. In June, 1881, Col. Ira r.
Lewis, with his wife and two younger
daughters, Cora and Stella, arrived in
San Felipe, and boarded in the same
house did. II was there l first knew
ny present wife, Cora Lewis, when she
was only two and one-half wears old.
My mother arrived at san Felipe August
IS, 1881, after a three months journey
BY lana from Missouri. My uncle,
Stephen T. Austin, was absent from San
Felipe when | arrived. When he re-
turned went TO see him at the house of
Mr.. Samuel ". Williams, who was sec
rotary Of Austin 5 colony. l had not
seen my uncle for over ten years. His
father, Moses Austin, sent him, in 1920,
10 Arkansas territory for the purpose of
establishing a farm on Red river, Dor
i2ring the line Of Texas, which farm
Noses Austin thought would be q good
est-0g place for his cOlonists when on
heir way to the wilderness of Texas. In
be latter part of February, 1892, l &C
omDaried my uncle, stephen T. Aus
IN, TO ihe city of Saltillo, then the cap
tai Of Coahuila and Texas. The coun-
y vss an entire wilderness from San
,niouio to Laredo, on the Rio Grande.
IN our way, west of the Frio river, my
nele pointed out to me the place where
e vas camped when on his way to the
'IE OF Mexico in 1922, to get cOnfir-
nation Of the grant by the new govern
lert, which was made to his father
anGary u, 1921, by Gen. Joaquin
FTeaondo, then in command of the
lSiern internal provinces of New Spain,
i.h headquarters at Monterey. He told |
.e that while in that camp he and his
We companions were surrounded by fifty |
omenche Indians, vino took everything |
ley had. Fortunately, one of his COM |
-n!ons spoke Spanish and he explained !
Tue tomanches, who understood the |
lgGage, that they were Americans and |
ere friendly TO the Comauches. There |
pom the Comanches gave them back |
e'ytAlnG but their guns and ammunt- |
'h- n SQuaw was just disappearing |
'th Austin g saddle bags, containing ell |
5 money and valuable papers, when he
lowed and recovered them. When we /
rived al Laredo. a Mexican town, we /
ere invited by the alcalde to stay at his |
me, and We remained there three days. |
'eFe met the oldest looking men and |
'men / ever saw, grey heads and |
hh.ed faces. ] heard the alCalde tell /
7 uncle that they never had any dis
SIS there except contagious diseases l
ought there. Also that it had not !
NED there enough with one eXcep-
~ IN year TO make the water run in
gulijes. I saw the first mountains at
mpaSas, Mexico. On the way we
1ssed the Salado river, and the water
IS so salty we could not water our
Fses. We reached SRltillo about the
Of April. 1882. The legislature
7ned in April. Ny uncle was one of
tWO representatives from Texas. We
arded with one Of the legislators, Don