The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-01-02

| nise Soiony. ~ 10 TINS site that the q. A. n.
committee Is negotiating with Mr.. Pierce
! for. Here the G.. a. r. colony win Ia
located IL the gentlemen agree upon terms,
~ was 10 examine this site that had
mace the trip from the Riazos river over
iand to the remote region in which was
, tnen travelling. AS stood on the blum
overlooking the pelucld waters Of Tres
paiaclos bay. the wild ducks and the wild
geese Flew by in coveys. on to the LETT
was pretty bayou that broadened out into
what Is known as Oyster Lake. On tho
| road down the driver had called my at
.enuon TO herd Of deer. while Wild tur-
Keys and other game abounded l was told
some great stories OF tarpon fishing. ond
reddish and red snapper catching. In the
Day and its estuaries. was informed there
are turtles and oysters In abundance
could not but appreciate the beauty OF
TINS whole region. Creeks, bayous and ar
royos drain the lands so well that dex,ite
the recent heavy rains and the fact tbat
the rcnh | followed was little more than
. trail travel was quite easy. We passed
through four great pastures that seemed to
! me to be OF about the same proportions,
and inquired II there was any slgnac ,nce
| In the division. I was informed that cacn
OF these pastures contained 5000 acres and
that Mr.. Pierce had given to each OF his
| four children an independent estate aud
had stocked each Of the pastures with cat
tle and kept the accounts OF each child's
| interest separate.
| OF these four independent estates the one
in the highest state OF Improvement liz
that owned by John Pierce, Jr. Young John
Fierce has his fathers love OF the soil and
his fathers mastery Of detail Perhaps 1Don,
acres OF the 5000 In young Johns portion
Is In cultivation. 1t looks more like an
| Ohio or Illinois Farm than a Texas ranch.
Young John, too. has his fathers mechan-
| fcal traits His house is fitted throughout
with running water and bath rooms and all
accessories to good living, while the build
ings are models OF neatness. comfort aud
graceful appearance. Zach OF the strips
OF land owned by the children fronts on
Tres Palacios river. On the banks of the
river, at the land OF young John Pierce,
pretty yacht. the "Nomad," was moored. 4
Nearby, good sized steam launch, which
will be christened rDl Vaquero." was be-
ing built. "El vaquero'' will be forty
five feet long and will accommodate about
forty persons. 1t will have eighteen horse
power and will be used by the Pierce fam
lily and their friends in hunting eNpcdi-
tions along the Tres Palacios and Mata-
gorda and Espiritu Santo waterways.
Although Mr.. Pierce did not tell me
how many acres of land he owns or how
thousands OF cattle he possesses. could
form a fair idea of the magnitude of his
interests from this short "trip to the Slough |
ranch. In the patch" which the G. a. |
r. people are negotiationg for there are |
10000 acres. There were 10000 acres in
the portions allotted to the children for |
pin money. These are distinct from El |
Rancho Grande. On the west of the Tres I
Palacios there are more great pastures,
and on Matagorda peninsula there are
more hands that Jonathan Pierce owns. 1t
would be conservative, think, TO put his
landed interests at 100000 acres. i saw
the pile OF abstracts of his lands; packed
away in one of the great safes OF his office
they make a stack nearly three feet high.
When 1t is understood that lands In that
part of Texas are rarely bought by cattle
men in less than 6i0-acre tracts, 1t can be
appreciated what that formidable pile OF
documents represent OF his cattle it is
more difficult to form fair estimate. but
| know he has in one bunch" $1,000 head.
OF blooded stock he has more than 500
bulls; among these are Galloways, Dur
hams, Devonshires. Herefords and Brahmas
of high degree. many of them being reg
istered. No account is taken in this list
Of his ranch in the Indian Territory.
believe he owns. all told, 10000 head OF
cattle.
When told Mr.. Pierce that though ne
had the most magnificent ranch in the
world, and that he seemed to have every u
lis life had been well spent. Z
IL have lived" said he. Ito see all the :
lreanis of my youth fulfilled. l am now d
beyond the need of money. You wouldn't Il
hink / was IS years old, would you? ! .
york today with the same heartness and
elish did when Was q young man. | ID
owe TO work. ! can do more hard work a c,
ay than any man employ, Thirty seven Il
ears on Texas ranch tells the story OF 1t
ihy look today like a man OF 40 instead W
( being an old mhn. But although | feel q
he zest for work, and although the am al
iticns of my early days have all come 10 f
tuition. have new hopes and new plaas. II
expect to see them realized. Man,
link, is, TO a large extent, the architect of IN
Is own destiny. ! have never wTcnged 81
IAN in my life, and | have tried to live la
/, that my children and my cifilGgen's chill &c
rem will be proud OF their ancestry In DC
II my life, although my business has been
cry large, have never sued man. az
Men whose fortunes were great when eV
as $50 month cowboy, have seen III
rought to poverty; men who were strug- 81
ling, hustling youngsters, Ike myself. IA
ave seen rise to weilth and anluence l Va
ave never seen drone succeed. The busy a.
ses rarely fail of reward 10
This beautiful country through which ot
NJ have been travelling has long been held II
the domain of the cowman. IL has been se
,cessary, in order to preserve these great JOY
lstures, to keep out immigration. This. s aa
believe, one of the most fruitful regions ga
i the face of the globe, but so far the ca
ttemen have succeeded in keeping out VA
q home seekers. Now we realize that we "a "a
N no longer keep them from invading to
is region. One railroad. the Galveston. ia a
razos and Southwestern, has already sur W
yed a route through his county. An pc
her line is projected The day OF great ir'
tracts in this part OF Texas is
osing Soon this whole Southern Texas
untry will be cut up into small parcels wa
land. II is beyond the power OF man to va
eek Tho tide. The cattlemen did all they 20
uld TO maintain this rich land for them- 2"
Ives but now the time has come when ga
ey will be driven out. thu
II will stay here as long as live: when rel
die will be placed in the cemetery up ha
ar the church you saw. But ! expect -