River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-05-28
OBSERVATIONS IN TEXAS.
We are permitted to publish the fol-
lowing private letter from our exp.

We are permitted to publish the fol-
lowing private letter from our exp.
III. to "A friend in this city.
SIERRA MADRE, Call, May Is, OIL
DEAR FRIEND: Having made trip
to Galveston. Texas, ! must let you
know what thought of the city and
its outlook for the future. / was dis
appointed in Texas, that is, parts of it.
The western part is very poor look
ing country; the grass is very scarce
and the cattle are in bad condition,
just able to walk, and lots of stock
died during the past winter. In south
ern Texas the land is not very good
and is rather thinly settled. Through
central Texas and up north of Fort
Worth and Dallas is fine country. A
good deal of the soil is ''black waxy"
which produces heavy crops of corn
and cotton, but at present cotton is
not paying very well. The country
tributary to Houston is very level and
at this season OF the year is nearly all
covered with water and from Houston
to Galveston it is the same, and the
cattle there look badly. Very little
farming is done tributary to either
point.
Galveston island is two miles from
the main land and the trains cross
on piling over Galveston Bay. The
island is very low and level, parts of
it being below high tide and hard
storms drive the waters over it. The
city of Galveston is we'll laid out, all
the streets being good width. In the
best business portion the streets are
paved with wooden blocks and the
| balance of the streets are very sandy.
1t seems that in 1888 an appropriation
was made for the harbOr and they had
| great boom in real estate which
lasted two or three years and property
went away up; after the money was
expended everything went down fiat
and has never got back to where 1t
was in 1854. During that boom a
number of very good business blocks
were put up but generally speaking
the buildings there are poor. Last
year lot of real estate boomers from
Kansas, and Denver, Colo, went to
Galveston and doomed real estate and
showed the prices up considerable.
After getting prices up as high as
/ possible they sold out and went over
on Virginia point ION the main land)
and ho0med things over there aud
have pushed lots there away up.
Property in Galy eston then took a
decline and can be bought for less
money to-day than it could last fall
10y probably 20 per cent. There is no
progression to the city and il it ever
has any it will have to attain it later
ON. People there have no confidence
in its making a great gain in popula.
ton, and many of them feel that
should they get deep water there that
it would not help the city very much,
and there is considerable doubt as to
getting deep water. Even should they
get it hard storm from sea would
likely fill up the bar again. and if they
do get it some of the r. Il. companies
might go to work and build piers out
from the main land and if they did il
would hurt property in the city.
Galveston can never be very good
retail city as there is no country to
back it up. 1t is great wholesale
point, there being some very heavy
concerns doing business there. AS to
the bank cleaTances l cannot explain
and can't see how they foot up as they
do. 1t was very dull while | was
there but the clearances showed up
big just the same. Taking it all in all
| don't see where there is to be any
thing made there in real estate unless
it is on acre property on the main
land that can be bought very cheap,
but think that later on will be a bet
ter time to look into it.
l have heen taking things easy since
leaving River Falls but will soon be
making a move. This is a great coun.
try. We are living on oranges.
have gained Ii lbs. since coming here
so have no fault to find with this
climate.