The National tribune., 1901-04-18

THr
which he could not easily compromise,
and intended going into some legitimate
business under his own name, and with
his brothers assistance.
Before he could be arrested in Texas,
however, it would be necessary to secure
Gov. Pease's warrant, which obliged q
long, tedious trip to Austin, the Capital
of the State; nearly the whole distance
having to be done by stage, which at that
time seemed forbidding piece of work
as 1t had rainsd every day of the year so
far: and it might be a question of help.
ing the stage through rather than being
cording &c my sons reports, which gave
true description Of things in Texas at
that time, everything beyond Houston
had to be paid for in gold, as sectional
sentimenr and counterfeiting had pro-
nOunced ban upon greenbacks, and not
only IN gold, but at exorbitant prices; ho-
tel rates being 50 per day; single meals,
from 81 to 81; railroad fares, 8 cents per
mile, and stage rates nearly double that
amount; with no assurance that you
would ever reach destination you had
paid to be conveyed to; all attended by
various kinds Of danger, among which
was the pleasant reflection that you
might be called upon at any time to con-
tribute to the benefit Of that noble relic
of chiyalry, the Ku KIuI Khan, who at
that day were particularly busy in Texas.
All of these pleasant considerations
made the departure from Galveston for
Austin, in Pickwickian sense, unusually
agreeable.
At Houston they discovered from diff
ferent persons, including the Postmaster,
that Taylor had been there, but had made
inquiries about points further up country;
and the general impression was that he
had gone on, though at Brenbam, the ter
minus Of the railroad, where they arrived
Monday evening, they could find no trace
of him.
The next morning, when my SON arose
and looked on the vast sea OF mud-a
filthy, black earth below; q dirty, black
sky above: with nothing but driving rain
and wintry gusts between; while the lack
adaisical Texans slouched about with
their hands in their pockets, with only
energy enough to procure tobacco or
at the doors and windows, only TO retire
again with a woe-begone expression OF
suspended animation in their faces-he
fully realized the force of the remark at
tributed TO Gen. Sheridan, and more eI-
pressive than polite: "If I owned Texas
and he'll, 1 would live in hell and sell
Texas"
The stage was crowded, however, and
the dreary conveyance splashed and
crunched on until noon, when dinner was
taken at Wilson's Ranch, long, low,
rambling tumbledown structure which,
like its owner. who had Mt one time been
General of something, and now re
tanned the thriving title out of compli-
ment TO his departed glory, had gone to
a genteel decay with a lazy ease worthy
Of its masters example. The dinner was
one long to be remembered by the detect
ives, as it was their first genuine Texan
dinner, and consisted merely of fat boiled
pork, and hot bread of the consistence of
putty cakes of the same dimensions
which, when broken open after a mighty
effort, disclosed various articles OF house
hold furniture, such rs clay pipes, old
knife-handles, and various other invoices
probably playfully dumped into the -four
| barrel by some one of the half-score OF
'towheaded, half-clad children which the
| "GeneraP and his buxom helpmate had
seen fit to provide for torturing another
generation with rare Texan dinners at a
dollar a plate.
1t was an all-day's labor getting TO La
Grange, but miles from Brennan, where
they arrived ar 10 o'clock, tired and ex.
hausted from the days banging about in
| the stage and out of It. for they were
obliged to walk many times in order &c
rest the faded horses SO that they could
get through TO La Grange at all; but be-
fore retiring made all the inquiries neces
sary to develop the fact that their man
had not been at that point.
The next day. Wednesday, was rather
more trying than the previous one. Two
miles out OF town the stage got "bogged, II
and the entire load of passengers were
obliged to get out and walk through
three miles of swamps, the stage finally
sticking fast, necessitating prying II GU.
with rails. After this Slough of Despond
was passed, the Colorado River had to be
forded three times. and then came "dry
run" which now, with every other ravine
| or depression, had become a "vet rnn,"
and was ADJOINING" as the drunken
driver termed 1t between csths.
There was at least four feet of water
in the dry run, and the horses baking,
the buckskin argument was applied to
them so forcibly that they gave a sudden