The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-12-05

Neu.bfGsM"~ef
his every act was cNouded in mystery
from the hour that he set his brogan
shoes into the black mud of Menardville
until one fine day ten years later, when
he bid his cowboys farewell, and they
said as the stage disappeared over the
hills toward San Antonio: There goes
the strangest character that ever struck
Texas
Mr.. Carleen was a Frenchman, betray
dng his nationality In the pronuncia ton
of the score or more Ensrs words he
had picked up on the road from New
Orleans TO the praries of the Lone Star
state. When he appeared for the first
time i'm the streets of the little frontier
village where he afterward became so
we'll known, he was dressed as COM
mon laboreE smoked a short pipe and
carried stout stick. The cowboys
loungfng about the Brlndle Steer saloon
sized him up and rendered a verdict that
good average job of strengthening
would just about fit the degree of ten
derfootednesS5 that was manifested i'm
his language, manner and carriage. At
ter a few moments conversation the
Winks that were exchanged between the
1oungers indicated the superior saItisfac-
nion that they experienced over the cor
RICHNESS of their Judgment but their or
ganS or vision were suddenly expanded
beyond all capacity Of closing without
an extraordinary effort when the new
conner, with little ceremony and few
words, invited the whole crowd to re-
fresh themselves at the bar of the Brln-
die Steer. He did want a job of herdlng
sheep, and he began to ask questions as
to wages and about the price of lambs
and ewes and rams while the barlSeeper
was giving him change for the big yell
low doubloon that he had selected from
q handful of loose coins to pay for the
drinks. Something like rsspectfulness
on the part of the crowd toward the
stranger, which had succeeded the Gu
riosity he had aroused, grew into admi-
ration when Mr.. Carleen accidentally
dropped a silver-mounted revolver from
his coat pocket and carelessly picked it
up with the Indifference CT an old plains
man. All were apparently eager to an
swer his questions and grant him infor-
nation upon every subject with such
promptness and pleasure as to please
THE Frenchman immensely
Carl sen lounged about the hotel for
several days, getting acquainted with the
people and making himself imm snsely
popular by his llbsnality. People thought
it rather strange that such a man would
go off into the mountains to herd sheep
for $40 per month, but those who were
most intimate with the stranger said that
they Thought he simply wanted to learn
the business. There were others, how
ever who did not hesitate to expr IS the
opinion that the Frenchman was a stage
rcbber and that he had come out into
the mountains to hide.
Mr.. Garrison soon demonstrated that he
was not slow man. He developed and
executed his plans with the rapidity that
t1rr he'd 1,A tacft "a 1,f
countrymen. While everything about
him apepared to be shrouded i'm mystery,
he acted as if he had nothing to con-
ceal. He appeared to live for ths pur
pose of astounding and mysthfying those
who were watching him. In the course
of eight or ten days the naws came TO
town that the mysterious Frenchman,
after a few days herding had expressed
himself as being tirsd of following the
flock for wages. He had purchased
10000 head of sheep and paid for them In
good San Antonio paper, so the STORY
ran. Next he bought the famous Los
Flordhas grant, containing 100 sections
of grazing lands. and soon afterwards
Mr.. Carleen came to town, confirming ali
these stories and making arrangements
to put q barbed-wire fence around one of
ths largest pastures in Western Texas.
Could it be possible that the man was
going to actually fence in GA 900 acres of
land? This happened back in the early
70s, before the cattle kings and Gig syn
dictates began to string barbed wire
around whole countbss The Frenchman
spent the night in Menardville. and long
before sunrise ON the next morning he
was on his road to Sam Antonio. accom-
panisd by half a dozen cowboys. driv-
ing herd of ponies in front of them.
Ten days afterward a traveller reported
on the sam Saba that AN army was NOV
ing across the praiiles of Western Texas
III was an army, but am army of baborers,
Stonemasoms. carpenters. painters, ma
chinists and transfers The Frenchman
was returning with 200 teams and more
than 500 people. Menardvllle went on a
boom. and the Los F'lortas ranch. only
ten miles away, presented a scene of
bustlsi and activity which made the ma
tives stare In wonder and amazement.
Mr.. Carleen had .eased hundreds and
thousands of square miles of grazing
lands and around all this vast scope
of country he beg gan ito erect wire renee.
He instantly broke ground for the pur-
pose of establishing home place on the
banks of the San Saba Hundreds of Ia
borers were SGT to work quarrying rock,
while other hundreds were engaged IN
digging for the foundation of his house.
Ut took him two years to compleits' this
Immense structure. 1t covered at least
half am acre of ground. and is five
stories high, and altogether one of this
most beautiful and astounding pieces of
archItecture in America today. The
walls are OF pure white marbl@. while
great columns of BLUSH granite support