The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-08-18
LIFE IN TEXAS IN The THIpllIs,,

"thiif\
Il came to Texaa in a SAM.
1885," said Hon. J. 7. wiz 'eh'i
Houston's Oldest and best ~ " 4
dents. to a Representative !, NJ
We landed at the mouth q, ( - ~
and walked to Pass st. Lon,s 'as 1'a4
end Of Galveston island, whe,. I - ~
yaWl boat Tor the trip d u se leai
~ our party were Judge 1 ~ li'.ry
hi'son MOTIFS, my father ana %aittt
IN our niue boat UP Galyesto, "esA
virginia Point, and the site ~ ey n.
emit TeSls City. across Rea M "a. 'le lfsl
/ by North Galveston. We na sa Dsr, III
across a part of the BAY 4 s'fay.
the present town Of seahraa. ~'I III
after dark In our little boa, ar.ttt
OF Ritson Morris. one Of ~ T.. ms hsss,
/ here we found his good wi,a conrls
see us. That was in Septemhee..s ga u,
/ Now, Just TO give yo, ~ s', la
i we lived in those days m ~, uea o. hs,
we had for supper Mrs. Morr a yoa via
/ Vided an excellent meal n rata.i aaa prl
hne coffee and elegant bnt,aa sa baes
/ oults-lt you know what tba, lus hl.S
Next day We set off again arg
\ Tor there were no railroads IN ~ ouf scx
4 travelling easy Passing ovar ~ 70 lats
par near the present cut Of NJ. Snpp''s|
4 we made our way up San Jscis,ssan Fe,S
Bunalo bayou to Harrisburg w III
there In time 10 eat a substar,.. We sal
OF baked venison, sweet potatas. eliss
\ fee. P''aVoes and 81.
"From there / went 10 n.,.
[ started to work behind a cor v'uiu0h "a
=; " me n No q 20 boarded at Ina II IN. "
~ - iitcnett, which, though Il. ~. ~
was small, was well patronlzed IN Ts. ~
aInec;aii n'us .nal interests young isls,,
,h,,a 'eI l nag peen at Columbia Ma.
while an expedition was organized ;, n.y. y
iasco TO pursue a Mexican yesssl = :. e
gun BY permission of nv ema,. 7 y.
joined the undertaking, although ',a,
very young at the time. Altar 49,, ~
lay we set off from velasco, Ar ,sI ~, g
we could fall in with the vessel ~ Oslxs
pursuing we were wrecked on us ~ ss,s
peninsula. With others | reaches '' y.,
eorda In a small boat while , ,.' NE
cold norther was blowing. Fraxl I ~.
gorda l walked all the way bacL ~.
lumbia, distance OF sixty mles w " y
we had to go through water r,aa ~,
cola' my party made thirty milss 4. 4.
nrst day. That night we silent ~ y
moor, after eating heartily N ~.
consisting Of sweet potatoes frlss i s4ppa
low. Hungry as we were IN, IN y,
pretty good Breakfast was fho AAN
supner. The next day We rs,os s.l' I
lumbia, and Fitchett's tavern .sasa, "
elegant place. 'selsa
i STAYED in Columbia during IA. -,
yer OF lsS5-lSS6, and in March .r....I
the IeHas army. in which I serysi s..e
october, 1886. We had good ratlom. So,
was a staple. Sometimes we ia ~.
ana coffee. and seldom sugar
When got back to Columhla ,s,..-
congress OF the republic was IN ,s,'I.,
! FUND the town crowded and sr,vi,,
but stu Fitchett's tavern wax MI,
good place. 'aS pr''V
AS near as I can remembor q
in February. 81. that I moyaa !, ~.
ton. Here the first congress had aasI,I
TO establish the capital OF the RspSp.
though there was no town AT AT n n,
place in the winter of So C. andrr
Allen, who owned the land here u1is.
took to erect the government bulldlun
"The second congress met Al flor,ts,
on the first Monday in NAV. 81. py in
Houston had sprung up into cutie ii.
laee There were plenty OF people her
especially soldiers Of the army who can,
10 gee about their land certificates
THAT congress. the first held In Hprs
ton, deserves TO be particularly ramsu,
bered. For 1t was made up Of remarkihy
able mon Indeed great ability was
aNVtar, Ar,v, ~, -. I'd .rl. 49,
tiers. Unless they possessed pueh a..
brains they didn't come to the nev<orn-
try.
in the early days here there VEN 10
Jayements and frequently the mud W
fearful. Trade with the interior, as NJ
Burk has told you. was carried On y
OK wagons. Houston being the tl!.
tributlng point for region extending "
or 500 miles.
What did we do for good tlme' WY
never wanted one. We all w1fst
hard, and that Yves all we cared about
Living was comfortable. 'hopsh SF
nose they would call Il rough these eils
hut We had one great advantage ta
We didn't keep CHANGING cooks, sHes
when we found good cook, We o'p.a
her. Or IF she was not for sale We s.la
hire her OF the owner for apou, *,
mouth. That was pretty goa plN,
but money was plentiful. renen.
buving -four at 800 barrel oN w
prices soon went down. ~.
"My home here on Louisiana WEI
and Capitol avenue wae then o.. 'ns y
skirts OF the town. and all the pirt o ". y,
which is built up south OF my nom. y
then an open prairie. and was .ss !.
the common grazing ground ~ l.-
, could hear the bells OF the oxen l ~ ~
How much did a good COW cos,' NJ
we never needed to buy one AZ ~.
to do was to bring one In from ,us XXI, M
RE. for the cattlemen were sla. ~. w
to have us break the COWS for nv M
"The country was pretty wa y M
DAYS Someti.nes we couia w. as.
, wolves howung at night close s.,s i
A good many friendly lnaia M, 10,
} come in to sell venison and o.ns ~,
; 81 used to travel about tls .,ss ysrl
rood deal even before the rallr ,,, ,,,,y
bniIt. went horseback, IS az ~
, hody else. and generally iounu h "a b |
z at a 81 a night for man ana ~, n. plsaa
some of the main roads there WEI Kid
, where extra good fare could o - Hid iii
"Things we're rough then, 1u H. ussi
comfortably. had plenty anu II
, were hospitable.'
ro DRYN